Going Through the Security Motions

The Associated Press profiles security guru Bruce Schneier. Bruce writes clearly and well, and apparently got a mention in “The Da Vinci Code”. He’s also very critical of Post 9–11 overreaction: “Eventually we will all come to our senses about security,” he says. “I think it’s 10 to 20 years. A generation.” His argument: less … Read more

Getting Data Past Borders

Bruce Schneier uses reports that Sudan is searching all laptops being brought into the country to sound a warning: “Your privacy rights when trying to enter a country are minimal, and this kind of thing could happen anywhere… If you’re bringing a laptop across an international border, you should clean off all unnecessary files and … Read more

Let Your Fingers Do the Remembering

Maybe I’ve missed something, but why isn’t more work dedicated to understanding the link between passwords and memory? Given that we’re supposed to remember our passwords (as opposed to writing them down on Post-it notes and sticking them somewhere prominent) why don’t we look more closely at the process whereby we remember stuff — and … Read more

Hang On, I’m Just Calling My Getaway Car

A bank in Chicago has banned use of cellphones in five of its branches, hoping to prevent the bad guys from communicating with each other during a robbery, according to UPI: “We ban cell phone use in the lobby because you don’t know what people are doing,” Ralph Oster, a senior vice president [of the … Read more

The Smell of Sterile Burning

There’s a growing noise about Sony’s apparent attempt to install digital rights management software usually associated with bad guys trying to maintain control of a compromised computer: Mark’s Sysinternals Blog: Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far: The entire experience was frustrating and irritating. Not only had Sony put software on my system … Read more