Last week, I wrote an article on “encryption” that highlighted Kim Dotcom’s effort to create an encrypted email service and Bitcoin’s successful foray into the creation of a decentralized crypto-currency. Some of the feedback I received from several tech savvy people I know is that the spying is so pervasive there’s really no chance at … Read more
The true patriotism, the only rational patriotism is loyalty to the nation all the time, loyalty to the government when it deserves it. – Mark Twain, The Czar’s Soliloquy” At this point, pretty much everyone in America has seen the results of Hillary Clinton media pet, John Harwood’s recent Twitter poll. Who do you believe America? — John Harwood … Read more
When Bruce Schneier writes a post titled, Someone Is Learning How to Take Down the Internet, you better listen. Read his post below and share widely: Over the past year or two, someone has been probing the defenses of the companies that run critical pieces of the Internet. These probes take the form of precisely calibrated attacks designed … Read more
Several days worth of links. Enjoy. FBI’s Own Actions Likely Made Farook’s iPhone Data Inaccessible (For the can’t make this up files, TechDirt) Decrypting an iPhone for the FBI (Bruce Schneier on Apple vs. FBI, excellent read) Is Apple Picking a Fight With the U.S. Government? (Very good article from 2014, Slate) Here’s a Way … Read more
Speaking less than three days after coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris killed 129 and injured hundreds more, Mr. Brennan complained about “a lot of hand-wringing over the government’s role in the effort to try to uncover these terrorists.” What he calls “hand-wringing” was the sustained national outrage following the 2013 revelations by Edward Snowden, a former National Security … Read more
Whenever cryptographer and computer security specialist Bruce Schneier issues a warning about something, I pay close attention. What follows are excerpts from a recent piece he wrote for Forbes titled, The Era of Automatic Facial Recognition and Surveillance Is Here: ID checks were a common response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, but they’ll soon be obsolete. You won’t … Read more
BUSINESS INSIDER: What was your immediate reaction to Cameron’s proposals? Bruce Schneier: My immediate reaction was disbelief, followed by confusion and despair. When I first read about Cameron’s remarks, I was convinced he had no idea what he was really proposing. The idea is so preposterous that it was hard to imagine it being seriously suggested. … Read more
Well, I’m not actually introducing JackPair at all. The creators of the device have had their project on Kickstarter for quite some time now, but it just passed its funding goal today (it had a $35,000 goal and has already raised close to $45,000 as of publication). Congrats guys! While encryption between cell phones is … Read more
“The people who are worried about privacy have a legitimate worry,” Mr. Bloomberg said during a press conference in Midtown. “But we live in a complex word where you’re going to have to have a level of security greater than you did back in the olden days, if you will. And our laws and our … Read more
Let me start this post by reiterating my view that a Trump Presidency carries various undeniable risks. Specifically, his stated views on civil liberties as well as a recent embrace of Wall Street, leaves much to be desired. That said, if you want to effectively push back against the real risks Trump presents, it’s important you live in reality. … Read more