Tag Archives: Security

What Happens When You Give Law Enforcement a Backdoor Key?

Posted on 2016-03-16 by jcs

This: The hackers who accessed celeb iCloud accounts in 2014 used a forensic tool designed for cops to download the data. https://t.co/grEzwuSaGJ — Christopher Soghoian (@csoghoian) March 13, 2016

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

John Oliver on Encryption

Posted on 2016-03-15 by jcs

The other day I saw a hilarious John Oliver video on encryption. He explains, as only Oliver can, why despite outward appearances the encryption question is not simple and one’s immediate reaction of “Of course Apple should help the government … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Steven Levy on the New Crypto Wars

Posted on 2016-03-13 by jcs

I’ve written about Steven Levy before (1, 2, 3). I still consider his book, Hackers, the definitive history of the hacker culture. Now over at Backchannel Levy asks Why Are We Fighting the Crypto Wars Again? Levy recounts the history … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Data on Farook’s Phone

Posted on 2016-03-13 by jcs

Undoubtedly true but beside the point. The government wants a precedent not any purported data on the phone. Reminder: Farook destroyed his + wife's personal phones. There isn't jack on his work iPhone. He didn't even bother to hit it … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Securing Your WordPress Site

Posted on 2016-03-12 by jcs

About three years ago, after Irreal was hacked, I published a short article on securing WordPress sites that pointed to a WordPress article on ways to harden a WordPress site. Recently, John Stevens wrote me to say that he and … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging | Tagged | Leave a comment

The FBI Doesn’t Need Apple

Posted on 2016-03-10 by jcs

Regarding the San Bernardino iPhone 5C, Daniel Kahn Gillmor over at the ACLU blog writes about something I’ve pondered myself: why doesn’t the FBI simply attack the hardware itself? Specifically, why not back up the phone’s NAND memory, which contains … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Testimony of Susan Landau

Posted on 2016-03-08 by jcs

The House Judiciary Committee recently held hearings on encryption and what should be our policy concerning disputes such as those between Apple and the FBI. If the committee reaches the wrong decisions it won’t be because they didn’t have expert … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Can We Have Our Cake and Eat It Too?

Posted on 2016-03-06 by jcs

No, but don’t let that stop you from asking. FBI v. Encryption hearings tl;dr The ignoranti: Can we have our cake and eat it too? (No.) — Kontra (@counternotions) March 1, 2016

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Journalists and Their Coverage of FBI/Apple

Posted on 2016-03-02 by jcs

This is why my “Note to journalists” in today’s earlier post was necessary: State of tech coverage: published AFTER the FBI Director corrects his earlier lie about not seeking a precedent: pic.twitter.com/mVkXT4P3eL — Kontra (@counternotions) March 2, 2016

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Judge Orenstein Rules

Posted on 2016-03-02 by jcs

By now you will have heard that Federal Magistrate Judge James Orenstein of the Eastern District of New York has ruled in case parallel to the San Bernardino case involving the FBI and Apple. At issue in the San Bernardino … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , | Leave a comment