Say it ain’t so! EVER SINCE A Carnegie Mellon talk on cracking the anonymity software Tor was abruptly pulled from the schedule of the Black Hat hacker conference last year, the security community has been left to wonder whether the research was silently handed over to law enforcement agencies seeking to uncloak the internet’s anonymous…
Category: Technology
Why Your Secure Building Isn’t
Better Security through Penetration Testing My book, Red Team: How to Succeed by Thinking Like the Enemy, provides the first in-depth investigation into the work of red teams in the military, intelligence, homeland security and private sectors, revealing the best practices, most common pitfalls, and most effective applications of their work. Below is an adaptation….
Technology and Privacy: Signal, the Crypto App Comes to Android
SINCE IT FIRST appeared in Apple’s App Store last year, the free encrypted calling and texting app Signal has become the darling of the privacy community, recommended—and apparently used daily—by no less than Edward Snowden himself. Now its creator is bringing that same form of ultra-simple smartphone encryption to Android. On Monday the privacy-focused non-profit…
“Hamland” Security: Amateur Radio’s Place in Securing the Homeland
During times of disaster, homeland security resources at all levels of government are often stretched to capacity. The whole-of-government approach involving local, county, state and federal agencies is sometimes not enough, especially in the realm of communications. That is where a dedicated group of private hobbyists, known as amateur radio operators, or “hams” as they…
It is Time for the U.S. Military to Innovate like Insurgents
These three Army captains built a gun that kills drones. It took them ten hours and cost $150. What can the Army learn from them? The recently concluded meeting of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) has become a yearly tradition for senior military leaders, congressional staff, and members of foreign armies to…
Facebook Friend or Terrorist: Who’s in Your Online Social Network?
As a law enforcement officer in Northeast Florida, the arrest of a 19-year-old local man named Shelton Thomas Bell got my attention. In January of this year, Bell was sentenced to twenty years in federal prison for conspiring and attempting to provide material support to terrorists. He burned American flags, recruited support locally, conducted “training…
Teen who Hacked CIA Director’s Email Tells How he Did It
A HACKER WHO claims to have broken into the AOL account of CIA Director John Brennan says he obtained access by posing as a Verizon worker to trick another employee into revealing the spy chief’s personal information. Using information like the four digits of Brennan’s bank card, which Verizon easily relinquished, the hacker and his…
Being Anonymous in Public Just got a Little Harder
I would like to think my friend Mr. A for sending me this link and picture; he is always on the lookout for interesting “security” issues for the CO and I am grateful for his diligence!-SF This photo was taken in Canada and shows about 700,000 people. Pick on a small part of the …
The Chip and Pin Credit Card Hack
THE CHIP-ENABLED CREDIT card system long used in Europe, a watered down version of which is rolling out for the first time in America, is meant to create a double check against fraud. In a so-called “chip-and-PIN” system, a would-be thief has to both steal a victim’s chip-enabled card and be able to enter…
If You’re not Paranoid, You’re Crazy
As government agencies and tech companies develop more and more intrusive means of watching and influencing people, how can we live free lives? By Walter Kirn I knew we’d bought walnuts at the store that week, and I wanted to add some to my oatmeal. I called to my wife and asked her where she’d…