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Technology Industry News & Career Management information, brought to you by BrainWave Consulting Company.
May 2008 - Posts
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Three news stories. And a week of squid comics -- not related to the Australia catch. And another comic.... Share Post: Read More...
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Electronic Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for First Responders, Second Edition, National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, April 2008. Mostly basic stuff.... Share Post: Read More...
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Sad. But, despite an impressive contribution to the war effort, the Bletchley Park site, now a museum, faces a bleak future unless it can secure funding to keep its doors open and its numerous exhibits from rotting away. The Bletchley Park Trust receives no external funding. It has been deemed ineligible for funding by the National Lottery, and turned down... Share Post: Read More...
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Jared Diamond on vengeance and human nature: This question of state government's recent origins, and, conversely, of its long failure to originate throughout most of human history, is a fundamental concern for social scientists. Until fifty-five hundred years ago, there were no state governments anywhere in the world. Even as late as 1492, all of North America, sub-Saharan Africa, Australia,... Share Read More...
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Ha ha ha ha. Famous last words from Atari founder Nolan Bushnell: "There is a stealth encryption chip called a TPM that is going on the motherboards of most of the computers that are coming out now," he pointed out "What that says is that in the games business we will be able to encrypt with an absolutely verifiable private... Share Post: Read More...
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Interesting: William Trogler and his team at the University of California, San Diego, made a silafluorene-fluorene copolymer to identify nitrogen-containing explosives. It is the first of its kind to act as a switchable sensor with picogram (10-15g) detection limits, and is reported in the Royal Society of Chemistry's Journal of Materials Chemistry. Trogler's polymer can detect explosives at much lower... Read More...
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Dear Bob ...Regarding "Diverse views," (Keep the Joint Running, 5/19/2008), good message. There is even more value in having diverse views. Imagine the enormous talent and contribution potential lost from narrowing the pool of talent applied to tough challenges through such behavior. My awakening occurred Read More...
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Not that we didn't think it was possible: The surveillance mechanism works by monitoring the signals produced by mobile handsets and then locating the phone by triangulation measuring the phone’s distance from three receivers. [....] The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) expressed cautious approval of the technology, which does not identify the owner of the phone but rather the handset's... Read More...
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Dear Bob ...While -- as usual -- you make a fair number of good points (in "Diverse views," Keep the Joint Running, 5/19/2008), there's one big thing I think you're overlooking: not everyone wants to have a sense of belonging in whatever way, and I suspect (though I haven't really looked into it) that Read More...
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Here is the text and video of Dan Geer's remarks at Source Boston 2008, basically a L0pht reunion with friends. At the end of the day, however, we are facing a much bigger, more metaphysical question than the ones I have so far posed. That I can pose many others is of no consequence; either you are sick of them... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...I've been part of my company's internal Employee Opinion Survey process, working with rank-and-file feedback to develop action plans intended to improve survey results. I have reservations about our methodology for the whole process and I've voiced my concerns.One recent dialog stands out Read More...
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Okay; this'll be fun. What's the most creative abuse for this that you can think of ? Previous studies have shown that participants in "trust games" took greater risks with their money after inhaling the hormone via a nasal spray. In this latest experiment, published in the journal Neuron, the researchers asked volunteer subjects to take part in a similar... Share Post: Read More...
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It's a truism in sales that it's easier to sell someone something he wants than something he wants to avoid. People are reluctant to buy insurance, or home security devices, or computer security anything. It's not they don't ever buy these things, but it's an uphill struggle. The reason is psychological. And it's the same dynamic when it's a security... Share Post: Read More...
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Only $15. Plus shipping, of course.... Share Post: Read More...
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Here's an audio of my talk at the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis on March 27. And a video from my talk at the Hack-in-the-Box conference in Dubai on April 16.... Share Post: Read More...
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The Fermilab Code was broken even before I got a chance to blog about it.... Share Post: Read More...
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Microsoft has announced that it will be supporting more file formats in its Office suite in the first half of 2009 , and the response from the European Union was one of skepticism. Microsoft intends to increase PDF support natively in Office , as well...( read more ) Share Post: Read More...
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To prevent terrorism, of course.... Share Post: Read More...
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Great article from Rolling Stone.... Share Post: Read More...
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RIM encrypts e-mail between BlackBerry devices and the server the server with 236-bit AES encryption. The Indian government doesn't like this at all; they want to snoop on the data. RIM's response was basically: that's not possible. The Indian government's counter was: Then we'll ban BlackBerries. After months of threats, it looks like RIM is giving in to Indian demands... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...I'd like to propose a (serious) hypothetical case for a moment [on the topic of diversity, introduced in the most recent two Keep the Joint Running entries: "Managers who have discriminating tastes," 5/12/2008 and "Diverse views," 5/19/2008 - Bob].Consider a perfect workplace where no bias Read More...
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The Second National Risk and Culture Study, conducted by the Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School. Abstract: Cultural Cognition refers to the disposition to conform one's beliefs about societal risks to one's preferences for how society should be organized. Based on surveys and experiments involving some 5,000 Americans, the Second National Risk and Culture Study presents empirical evidence Read More...
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In the information age, we all have a data shadow. We leave data everywhere we go. It's not just our bank accounts and stock portfolios, or our itemized bills, listing every credit card purchase and telephone call we make. It's automatic road-toll collection systems, supermarket affinity cards, ATMs and so on. It's also our lives. Our love letters and friendly... Share Post: Read More...
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Impressive research: At Saarland University, researchers trained a $500 telescope on a teapot near a computer monitor 5 meters away. The images are tiny but amazingly clear, professor Michael Backes told IDG. All it took was a $500 telescope trained on a reflective object in front of the monitor. For example, a teapot yielded readable images of 12 point Word... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...Commenting on your recent article, "Managers who have discriminating tastes," Keep the Joint Running, 5/12/2008) I really like working with women engineers as most of them are very detail oriented (a must-have attribute for engineers) and try to be competent. I can't say that for many men Read More...
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From CNN: Before 9/11, airlines and security personnel -- and I use the term "security personnel" loosely -- might have let a nickname or even a maiden name on a ticket slide. No longer. If you have the wrong name on your ticket, you're probably grounded. And there are two reasons for this: security and greed. The Transportation Security Administration... Share Post: Read More...
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An airplane hijacker -- a real one, someone with actual airplane hijacking experience -- was working at Heathrow Airport. Surreal.... Share Post: Read More...
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This is a big deal: On May 13th, 2008 the Debian project announced that Luciano Bello found an interesting vulnerability in the OpenSSL package they were distributing. The bug in question was caused by the removal of the following line of code from md_rand.c MD_Update(&m,buf,j); [ .. ] MD_Update(&m,buf,j); /* purify complains */ These lines were removed because they caused... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...Publicly flogging the clock-watcher (see "Rights, privileges, fairness and equality," Keep the Joint Running, 5/5/2008) by denying him a Crackberry is unlikely to get the improved performance you seek. Likewise, explaining to them your rationale as "work to your potential." The clock watcher Read More...
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From the DHS and the FBI, a great movie-plot threat: It is possible to introduce chemical or biological agents directly into external air-intakes or internal air-circulation systems. Unless the building has carbon filters (or the equivalent), volatile chemical agents would not be stopped and would enter the building untenanted. [...] Other scenarios involve the use of helicopters equipped with agricultural... Read More...
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Last month a US court ruled that border agents can search your laptop, or any other electronic device, when you're entering the country. They can take your computer and download its entire contents, or keep it for several days. Customs and Border Patrol has not published any rules regarding this practice, and I and others have written a letter to... Share Post: Read More...
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Ten years ago I started Crypto-Gram. It was a monthly newsletter written entirely by me. No guest columns. No advertising. Nothing but me writing about security, published the 15th of the month every month. Now, 120 issues later, none of that has changed. I started Crypto-Gram because I had a lot to say about security, and book-length commentaries were too... Share Post: Read More...
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On April 7 -- seven days late -- I announced the Third Annual Movie-Plot Threat Contest: For this contest, the goal is to create fear. Not just any fear, but a fear that you can alleviate through the sale of your new product idea. There are lots of risks out there, some of them serious, some of them so unlikely... Share Post: Read More...
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The standard way to take control of someone else's computer is by exploiting a vulnerability in a software program on it. This was true in the 1960s when buffer overflows were first exploited to attack computers. It was true in 1988 when the Morris worm exploited a Unix vulnerability to attack computers on the Internet, and it's still how most... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...I agree with your perspective on clock punching Jim ("Rights, privileges, fairness and equality," Keep the Joint Running, 5/5/2008). But in the best of all worlds (which seems rare to me), the manager would be proactive instead or reactive -- s/he would be working with and encouraging staff Read More...
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Stories here. Actually, I think this is a fine idea -- as long as they only use computers that they legally own.... Share Post: Read More...
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The Department of Homeland Security has a new $200 million Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Inititative (CNCI). Congress is happy to fund it, but kind of wants to know what it's going to do. I have to admit, I'm kind of curious myself.... Share Post: Read More...
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Guardian Angel: An intelligent personalized agent monitors, regulates, and advises a user in decision-making processes for efficiency or safety concerns. The agent monitors an environment and present characteristics of a user and analyzes such information in view of stored preferences specific to one of multiple profiles of the user. Based on the analysis, the agent can suggest or automatically implement... Read More...
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Dear Bob ...I think you expressed the point about "Jim", the marginal employee well (see "Rights, privileges, fairness and equality," Keep the Joint Running, 5/5/2008).What about the flip side where management only grants "lateral" transfers, but the new job is actually a downgrade or at most equal in Read More...
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Definitely a good way to look at it: Fear, in other words, is a tax, and al-Qaeda and its ilk have done better at extracting it from Americans than the Internal Revenue Service. Think about the extra half-hour millions of airline passengers waste standing in security lines; the annual cost in lost work hours runs into the billions. Add to... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...I think you're right on the money about community size, rules, trust and treating people fairly [from "Rights, privileges, fairness and equality," Keep the Joint Running, 5/5/2008 - Bob]. It's true that as groups get larger more rules and laws are required. Once people are able to be anonomyous Read More...
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Last month I gave a talk at InfoSecurity Europe in London. The title was "Reconceptualizing Security," or maybe "The Theater of Security," and it is a follow-on to my work on the psychology of security. I haven't yet written this work up, but you can listen to or watch my talk.... Share Post: Read More...
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I don't know what I think of Sweet Dreams Security.... Share Post: Read More...
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A handy guide: A service called World Tracker lets you use data from cell phone towers and GPS systems to pinpoint anyone’s exact whereabouts, any time — as long as they’ve got their phone on them. All you have to do is log on to the web site and enter the target phone number. The site sends a single text... Share Post: Read More...
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Excellent article, chronicling the surveillance debate from the mid 1980s until today. Don't expect good coverage of the current debate, however: the legality of the NSA's recent domestic eavesdropping program, and the legality of the assistance provided by the telcos.... Share Post: Read More...
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Remember the two men who were exhibiting "unusual behavior" on a Washington-state ferry last summer? The agency's Seattle field office, along with the Washington Joint Analytical Center, was still seeking the men's identities and whereabouts Wednesday as ferry service was temporarily shutdown when a suspicious package was found in a ferry bathroom and taken away by authorities. "We had various... Share Read More...
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A month ago I announced the Third Annual Movie-Plot Threat Contest: For this contest, the goal is to create fear. Not just any fear, but a fear that you can alleviate through the sale of your new product idea. There are lots of risks out there, some of them serious, some of them so unlikely that we shouldn't worry about... Share Post: Read More...
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Seems obvious to me: "I reject the notion that Al Qaeda is waiting for 'the big one' or holding back an attack," Sheehan writes. "A terrorist cell capable of attacking doesn't sit and wait for some more opportune moment. It's not their style, nor is it in the best interest of their operational security. Delaying an attack gives law enforcement... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...All this talk about interviews and illegal questions has me wondering ...If I'm interviewing someone, and they disclose information about themselves without my prompting, what do I do?For example, a very realistic question "Why did you leave XYZ job?"with a reply "XYZ company wanted me to Read More...
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News here and here: Massive investment in CCTV cameras to prevent crime in the UK has failed to have a significant impact, despite billions of pounds spent on the new technology, a senior police officer piloting a new database has warned. Only 3% of street robberies in London were solved using CCTV images, despite the fact that Britain has more... Share Post: Read More...
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Oops: As many as 400 of the unaccounted for laptops belong to the department’s Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program, according to officials familiar with the findings. Bet you anything those laptops weren't encrypted.... Share Post: Read More...
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On April 27, 2007, Estonia was attacked in cyberspace. Following a diplomatic incident with Russia about the relocation of a Soviet World War II memorial, the networks of many Estonian organizations, including the Estonian parliament, banks, ministries, newspapers and broadcasters, were attacked and -- in many cases -- shut down. Estonia was quick to blame Russia, which was equally quick... Share Post Read More...
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Dear Bob ...I have a bit of a dilemma that I'm hoping you can help me out with because I'm stuck.I was recently "promoted" to a new position. I say promoted in quotes because the promotion seems to be hardly that. I was suddenly given a new title, new and extra responsibilities, and a new boss (someone Read More...
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I just received the second edition of Ross Anderson's Security Engineering in the mail. It's beautiful. This is the best book on the topic there is, and I recommend it to everyone working in this field -- and not just because I wrote the foreword. You can download the preface and six chapters. (You can also download the entire first... Share Post: Read More...
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This isn't my Password Safe. This is PasswordSafe.com. Password Safe is an open-source application that lives on your computer and encrypts your passwords. PasswordSafe.com lets you store your passwords on their server. They promise not to look at them. Can I trust PasswordSafe? As we mentioned, pretty much every function is automated, no-one here ever sees your information as it's... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...In my department, a few core people are getting leaned one heavily since others have "lives".The classic case is when certain team members have kids, both parents work, and they miss random blocks of time for kids stuff. The non-kid (or different priority) folks end up picking up the slack. Read More...
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This week, on a writing blog called Elephant Words, every story is based on this squid image. Click forward on the blog entries to see the fiction.... Share Post: Read More...
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News here, here, here, here, here, and here. And stories about the squid's big eyes here and here. (It is certainly colossal: 1,089 pounds and 26 feet long.) There's live video. There's also a lecture series. Video will be available on the Web.... Share Post: Read More...
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Two weeks ago I was interviewed on Dutch radio. The introduction and questions are in Dutch, but my answers are in English. Three weeks ago I was interviewed on Anti War Radio. It was an odd interview, starting from my essay "Portrait of the Modern Terrorist as an Idiot" and then meandering into the role of government versus corporations in... Share Post: Read More...
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In 1994, I published my second book, Protect Your Macintosh. You've probably never heard of it; it died a quiet and lonely death. Going through some boxes, I found a dozen copies of the book: first and, I think, only printing. I'm willing to send one to anyone who wants one for $5 postage. (That's in the U.S. If you're... Share Post: Read More...
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If this weren't so sad, it would be funny: The problem with federal air marshals (FAM) names matching those of suspected terrorists on the no-fly list has persisted for years, say air marshals familiar with the situation. One air marshal said it has been "a major problem, where guys are denied boarding by the airline." "In some cases, planes have... Share Post: Read More...
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