Security

Why Signalgate Matters

I found this in my files. I no doubt intended to publish it months ago and…
Another Telephone Phish

A person called me on the phone a few moments ago claiming to be from US…
Making Fun of Quantum Codebreaking

Quantum codebreaking uses a theoretically “large” quantum computer to break secret codes. Today, quantum computers handle…
War Plan Chat Includes Journalist

Journalists aren’t usually invited to online chats about US war plans. This seemed obvious until yesterday,…
Clever PayPal-based Attack

Do not call that number! This attack is brilliant. It uses a legitimate PayPal email message…
Breaking Bitlocker

It was only a matter of time before someone did this. Bitlocker is Microsoft’s technique for…
Play the Password Game!

A clever person has hosted a Password Game. Give it a try!
Leaking Secrets Under Social Pressure

Here is a classic example of human nature: people on a gaming site argue that the…
SCI//HCS-P/SI/TK at Mar-a-Lago

This is a brief explanation of the weird acronyms on the cover sheets that appeared in…
The Mar-a-Lago Mess

Update: Former President Trump has been indicted under federal laws for unlawfully retaining government documents and…
The Quantum Computer Bogeyman

Peter Gutmann of the University of Aukland recently published a parable “On the Heffalump Threat.” He…
Telepathic Declassification

Former President Trump recently suggested that the sitting President simply needs to “think” something is declassified…
Email Attack via a Recycled Domain

A software engineering friend fell victim to an almost-successful attack on his Facebook account. The attacker…
Update: Tweeting Top Secret

Back in the dark ages of the Trump presidency, the President tweeted this photograph. An earlier…
Cities, Disneyland, and Software Security

I like to think of our modern software infrastructure as being like a large city and…
libhairshirt vs libfootgun

Peter Gutmann, an interesting crypto-academic from New Zealand, has proposed discussing two crypto libraries, libhairshirt and…
Selling It: Crypto Edition

Here is a crypto version of “Selling It,” a long-running back-page column in the magazine Consumer…
Old Story: Leaked Voter Records

My previous posting on the Proud Boys spam email speculated that voter records were widely available…
“Proud Boys” Emails Are Bogus

The Proud Boys emails aren’t actual threats. They’re the lowest form of anonymous spam.
Krebs’ Three Rules

Like most people, I’m drawn to those small lists of “rules” that promise to make our…
Basic Tech-y Article on Password Hacking

Here’s an article from last year’s Scientific American: The Mathematics of (Hacking) Passwords. If you remember…
Assessing an Email’s Legitimacy

I recently received an email sporting “Wells Fargo” logos. It asked me to do a survey.…
Beware of Phone Phishing

Just because the email (or letter) directs you to a phone number doesn’t mean you aren’t…
“Eyes Only” Revisited

I was poking around declassified documents from the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and found a reference…