Re: [Cryptography] Snowden "fabricated digital keys" to get access to NSA servers?

2013-06-29 Thread Alec Muffett
>>[John here. Let's try some speculation about what this phrase, "fabricating digital keys", might mean.] My own, personal guess is that it is obfuscation which translates as "using passwords" or "accessing a portal over SSL" plus "we're too embarrassed to admit that it was that easy". -- http:

Re: Photos of an FBI tracking device found by a suspect

2010-10-08 Thread Alec Muffett
Original post with nicer pics: http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/dmh5s/does_this_mean_the_fbi_is_after_us/ Semi-relevant government pricelist: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=st820ec+site:.gov -a -- alec.muff...@gmail.com ---

Re: Haystack redux

2010-09-14 Thread Alec Muffett
Obliged, Steve. My & Simon Phipps' write-up is at ComputerWeekly: http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2010/09/burning-haystack/index.htm - a On 14 Sep 2010, at 17:57, Steve Weis wrote: > There have been significant developments around Haystack since the > last messag

Re: Haystack redux

2010-09-03 Thread Alec Muffett
Flamewar seems to have broken out: http://neteffect.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/09/02/hay_what I've had issues[1] with some of Morozov's previous writing[2] but if EM is reporting accurately how Haystack is deployed - let alone used - then even laying aside Kerckhoffs' principle / the

"Thirty-Year-Old Encryption Formula Can Resist Quantum-Computing Attacks That Defeat All Common Codes"

2010-08-21 Thread Alec Muffett
This may[1] be relevant to your interests; alas I am not fit to review the math... http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-08/quantum-computer-proof-data-encryption-researchers-look-formulat-created-1978 That QC currently defeats "all common codes" was unknown to me; I must get round

How RIPA gets used in practice...

2009-11-25 Thread Alec Muffett
The first person jailed under draconian UK police powers that Ministers said were vital to battle terrorism and serious crime has been identified by The Register as a schizophrenic science hobbyist with no previous criminal record. His crime was a persistent refusal to give counter-terroris

OTR splicer for Skype ?

2009-09-28 Thread Alec Muffett
I found the following Adium-based solution for layering OTR atop Skype IM: http://www.derkeiler.com/Mailing-Lists/Full-Disclosure/2008-06/msg00224.html ...and was wondering whether anyone has generalised this by creating some open-source, standalone, simple application which talks to the

Re: FileVault on other than home directories on MacOS?

2009-09-23 Thread Alec Muffett
In Disk Utility -> New Image, select size, properties and encryption type (AES 128 or 256) and Create. Then mount and use your encrypted disks as needed. Just as an aside: on 10.5 and upwards I have taken to using encrypted sparse bundles rather than simple images; the advantage of doing th

From Ivory Tower to Iron Bars: Scientists Risk Jail Time for Violating Export Laws

2009-09-18 Thread Alec Muffett
Perry: plasma physics is wildly OT but I believe the relevance will be obvious to those who remember the crypto wars, especially when they hit the fifth paragraph: It’s a difficult subject: many people I interviewed felt Roth showed blatant disregard for the law — he was warned his work fell

Re: Why the poor uptake of encrypted email?

2008-12-09 Thread Alec Muffett
On 8 Dec 2008, at 21:13, JOHN GALT wrote: The iconic Paper explaining this is "Why Johnny Can't Encrypt" available here: http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1251435 Orlbaq gur "Jul Wbuaal" cncre - sbphfvat hcba hfnovyvgl - V guvax gurer vf n uvture ceboyrz bs vagrebcrenovyvgl naq vasbe

AppleID Security

2008-07-24 Thread Alec Muffett
Disclaimer: Yes, I am referenced, but I've been blarting about this for nearly two years now, and nobody's paid the slighest notice before; the matter of making website security both a) easy and b) better can now only become *more* urgent. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/24/apple_