Someone is stealing millions of dollars worth of Ethereum by guessing users’ private keys. Normally this should be impossible, but lots of keys seem to be very weak. Researchers are unsure how those weak keys are being generated and used. Their paper is here. Powered by WPeMatico
Category: cryptography
Auto Added by WPeMatico
In what I am sure is only a first in many similar demonstrations, researchers are able to add or remove cancer signs from CT scans. The results easily fool radiologists. I don’t think the medical device industry has thought at all about data integrity and authentication issues. In a world where sensor data of all … Read More “Maliciously Tampering with Medical Imagery” »
Interesting scheme: It all starts off with a fairly bog standard gallery style certificate. Details of the work, the authenticating agency, a bit of embossing and a large impressive signature at the bottom. Exactly the sort of things that can be easily copied by someone on a mission to create the perfect fake. That torn-in-half … Read More “How the Anonymous Artist Banksy Authenticates His or Her Work” »
A recent article overhyped the release of EverCrypt, a cryptography library created using formal methods to prove security against specific attacks. The Quantum magazine article sets off a series of “snake-oil” alarm bells. The author’s Github README is more measured and accurate, and illustrates what a cool project this really is. But it’s not “hacker-proof … Read More “Unhackable Cryptography?” »
GCHQ has put simulators for the Enigma, Typex, and Bombe on the Internet. News article. Powered by WPeMatico
In his 2008 white paper that first proposed bitcoin, the anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto concluded with: “We have proposed a system for electronic transactions without relying on trust.” He was referring to blockchain, the system behind bitcoin cryptocurrency. The circumvention of trust is a great promise, but it’s just not true. Yes, bitcoin eliminates certain trusted … Read More “Blockchain and Trust” »
Last week, Australia passed a law giving the government the ability to demand backdoors in computers and communications systems. Details are still to be defined, but it’s really bad. Note: Many people e-mailed me to ask why I haven’t blogged this yet. One, I was busy with other things. And two, there’s nothing I can … Read More “New Australian Backdoor Law” »
Earlier this year, the US Department of Justice made a series of legal arguments as to why Facebook should be forced to help the government wiretap Facebook Messenger. Those arguments are still sealed. The ACLU is suing to make them public. Powered by WPeMatico
Sotheby’s is auctioning off a (working, I think) three-rotor Enigma machine today. They’re expecting it to sell for about $200K. I have an Enigma, but it’s missing the rotors. Powered by WPeMatico
Earlier this month, I wrote about a statement by the Five Eyes countries about encryption and back doors. (Short summary: they like them.) One of the weird things about the statement is that it was clearly written from a law-enforcement perspective, though we normally think of the Five Eyes as a consortium of intelligence agencies. … Read More “More on the Five Eyes Statement on Encryption and Backdoors” »
