Rick

#PodestaEmails are NOT obvious fakes

Emails are notoriously hard to validate. Emails are like typed, signed contracts with no section or…
Election Crypto Conspiracy Theory

I’m not often a fan of conspiracy theories, except for entertainment value. This one is interesting…
A Yank at Bletchley Park

A friend and colleague introduced me to a 94-year-old gentleman with a rare tale to tell. John…
Symantec Breaks Trust with the Internet?

Symantec is one of the companies that holds the keys to the Internet: they are a trusted…
Update on the Apple Music Mess

The trouble reported earlier with Apple Music seems to have attracted high level attention. James Pinkstone…
Which cables to keep, which to discard?

CNET recently published a list of cables to keep and cables to discard. I like to…
MSSE Cybersecurity Course 2017

Members of the University of Minnesota’s MSSE Class of 2017: the cybersecurity course (titled “Data and Network…
Apple Music Deletes Personal Content

[UPDATE: Apple now claims this was a bug; see the updated post] This is perhaps the…
University: Anti-phishing not really a “policy”

UMN will never ask for personal info via email, except when they can’t help it.
The Apple case isn’t “privacy” versus “safety”

The current fight is about whether we will impose a technological infrastructure which will be exceptionally…
Backing Up OS X with Mirrored Encrypted RAID

Computing technology is insanely reliable when you look at statistical error rates. Hard drives read and…
Threat Agents

A threat agent is an active entity motivated to attack our mobile devices and activities. We…
Communication is Hard

[This post contains text I’m trying out for a new writing project on cybersecurity in the…
NSA re-releases Boak’s Lectures

I’m a fan of Boak’s Lectures – they cover the fundamentals of military cryptography just before…
Recycling an iPhone – not a picnic

I’m upgrading my iPhone and trading in the old one. I had to erase the old one completely…
Encrypt All Hard Drives!

If you have the technical interest to read this, you probably do a lot of your…
Clinton’s Email Server Isn’t Her Scandal

Early last month, Edward Snowden criticized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for obviously and intentionally mishandling classified…
Adieu, Online School

I have shut down my online school. It was an interesting experience, but not a cost-effective…
Reviewer Links for Cloud Computing

Thank you for reviewing Cloud Computing videos! I’m posting draft videos on my Vimeo site. Here…
Streamlined NSTISSI 4011 Training Certificate

Cryptosmith Institute now offers a second option for earning an NSTISSI 4011 training certificate: The original option:…
MSSE Cybersecurity Elective 2016

I am offering a Cybersecurity elective for students registered in the University of Minnesota’s Master of Science…
A Script to Generate Spam Comments

The text attached to this post was submitted as a web site comment. No doubt some…
Free NSTISSI 4011 Certificate

[SORRY – This is posted for historical purposes only! The free certificate is no longer available]…
Standardized Back Door

Matthew Green published an entertaining rundown on the cryptographic back door in ANSI and NIST standards.…