In Click Here to Kill Everybody, I promised clickable endnotes. They’re finally available. Powered by WPeMatico
At least one presidential candidate has a policy about quantum computing and encryption. It has two basic planks. One: fund quantum-resistant encryption standards. (Note: NIST is already doing this.) Two, fund quantum computing. (Unlike many far more pressing computer security problems, the market seems to be doing this on its own quite nicely.) Okay, so … Read More “Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Has Quantum Encryption Policy” »
If you need to reset the software in your GE smart light bulb — firmware version 2.8 or later — just follow these easy instructions: Start with your bulb off for at least 5 seconds. Turn on for 8 seconds Turn off for 2 seconds Turn on for 8 seconds Turn off for 2 seconds … Read More “Resetting Your GE Smart Light Bulb” »
Reuters has a long article on the Chinese government APT attack called Cloud Hopper. It was much bigger than originally reported. The hacking campaign, known as “Cloud Hopper,” was the subject of a U.S. indictment in December that accused two Chinese nationals of identity theft and fraud. Prosecutors described an elaborate operation that victimized multiple … Read More “Details of the Cloud Hopper Attacks” »
A sophisticated attacker has successfuly infiltrated cell providers to collect information on specific users: The hackers have systematically broken in to more than 10 cell networks around the world to date over the past seven years to obtain massive amounts of call records — including times and dates of calls, and their cell-based locations — … Read More “Cell Networks Hacked by (Probable) Nation-State Attackers” »
MIT Technology Review is reporting about an infrared laser device that can identify people by their unique cardiac signature at a distance: A new device, developed for the Pentagon after US Special Forces requested it, can identify people without seeing their face: instead it detects their unique cardiac signature with an infrared laser. While it … Read More “Cardiac Biometric” »
ProPublica is reporting on companies that pretend to recover data locked up by ransomware, but just secretly pay the hackers and then mark up the cost to the victims. Powered by WPeMatico
Jalopnik asks the important question: “If squids ruled the earth, what would their cars be like?“ As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered. Read my blog posting guidelines here. Powered by WPeMatico
My Applied Cryptography is on a list of books banned in Oregon prisons. It’s not me — and it’s not cryptography — it’s that the prisons ban books that teach people to code. The subtitle is “Algorithms, Protocols, and Source Code in C” — and that’s the reason. My more recent Cryptography Engineering is a … Read More “Applied Cryptography is Banned in Oregon Prisons” »
New research from Science: “Civic honesty around the globe“: Abstract: Civic honesty is essential to social capital and economic development, but is often in conflict with material self-interest. We examine the trade-off between honesty and self-interest using field experiments in 355 cities spanning 40 countries around the globe. We turned in over 17,000 lost wallets … Read More “Research on Human Honesty” »