Lifeboat Foundation

Hmmmm.

Computers based on quantum mechanics have been in the realm of science fiction for years, but recently companies like Google (Nasdaq: GOOGL), and even the National Security Agency, have started to think practically about what their existence would mean.

These super-powerful computers would be exciting in many respects, but they would also be able to break the methods of data encryption that currently make it safe to browse the internet or pay for things online.

Continue reading “Boston startup Whitewood Encryption Systems awarded patent for encryption to fend off quantum computers” »

Can’t wait to see it.

Troops in remote regions around the world often struggle to operate with limited networks for data sharing and communication—an encumbrance that is amplified when U.S. troops need to share classified or otherwise secure data with each other and coalition partners. The usual process for sharing such information requires an end-to-end connection to secure servers via a dedicated digital “pipe” approved for the specific security level of data being transmitted. If that tactical network is overloaded or if a glitch causes a break in the digital chain, the message or data is typically lost and the process must be repeated until a connection is completed, potentially hindering the mission in fast-moving tactical situations. Additionally, the current computers and infrastructure needed to manage multiple levels of U.S. classified and coalition information are too bulky for tactical use in the field and can take months or longer to deploy.

Continue reading “New DARPA Technology Could Simplify Secure Data Sharing” »

For all my friends in Dubai or travelling to Dubai; wish I could go.

EyeLock LLC will be exhibiting its suite of iris authentication technology at Intersec Dubai 2017, on January 22–24 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Dubai.

Featuring EyeLock’s proprietary software, security, algorithms and optics, the iris authentication technology delivers secure, reliable and user-friendly capabilities, according to the company.

EyeLock’s technology analyzes more than 240 unique iris characteristics to deliver dual-eye authentication, an unmatched security architecture and anti-spoofing technology.

Continue reading “EyeLock to exhibit iris authentication technology at Intersec Dubai 2017” »

Want to take someone’s site down and need a cheap hacker; well the Dark Web has them.

In the lawless digital hinterlands of the dark web, hackers hire out their expertise for just £20, offering to cripple websites with an overload of data from ready-made “botnet” armies.

On hidden forums, accessible only by using encrypted technology, clients tout for their services, bidding to have cybercriminals perform all manner of illegal activities, such as compromising university systems to alter grades.

Continue reading “Cybercriminals charge just £20 to paralyse websites” »

It seems the dark web is now making it easier for disgruntled employees to take their revenge to the next level, we learn from the KrebsOnSecurity article, “Rise of Darknet Stokes Fear of the Insider.” The article cites Gartner analyst Avivah Litan; she reports a steep increase in calls from clients concerned about vindictive employees, current or former, who might expose sensitive information on the dark web. Not surprisingly, companies with a lot of intellectual property at stake are already working with law-enforcement or private security firms to guard against the threat.

How, exactly, is the dark web making worker retaliation easier than ever before? Writer Brian Krebs explains:

Noam Jolles, a senior intelligence expert at Diskin Advanced Technologies, studies darknet communities. I interviewed her last year in ‘Bidding for Breaches,’ a story about a secretive darknet forum called Enigma where members could be hired to launch targeted phishing attacks at companies. Some Enigma members routinely solicited bids regarding names of people at targeted corporations that could serve as insiders, as well as lists of people who might be susceptible to being recruited or extorted.

Biology and technology are moving closer and experts are wondering if this poses a new security threat.

One of the distinct advantages of working in the IT industry for over 35 years is all of the direct and indirect experience that brings, as well as the hindsight that comes with that.

One of the more personally interesting experiences for me has been watching the growth and ultimate success of the Open Source Software (OSS) movement from a fringe effort (what business would ever run on OSS?) to what has now become a significant component behind the overall success of the Internet. I was initially reminded of the significance of the Open Source Software movement, and how long it’s actually been around when the technology press recognized the 25th anniversary of the Linux kernel. That, and the decision in January of 1998 by Netscape Communications Corp to release the complete source code for the Communicator web browser, are two of the top reasons for the Internet taking off. Well, the first specification for HTTP helped a little as well, I suppose.

There are, of course, many other examples of OSS software that power the Internet, from the numerous Apache Foundation projects, relational and other database management systems like Postgres, MySQL, MongoDB, and Cassandra. The list of markets and technologies for which there are OSS resources is essentially endless.

When you engage in international travel, you may one day find yourself face-to-face with border security that is polite, bilingual and responsive—and robotic.

The Automated Virtual Agent for Truth Assessments in Real Time (AVATAR) is currently being tested in conjunction with the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) to help border security agents determine whether travelers coming into Canada may have undisclosed motives for entering the country.

“AVATAR is a kiosk, much like an airport check-in or grocery store self-checkout kiosk,” said San Diego State University management information systems professor Aaron Elkins. “However, this kiosk has a face on the screen that asks questions of travelers and can detect changes in physiology and behavior during the interview. The system can detect changes in the eyes, voice, gestures and posture to determine potential risk. It can even tell when you’re curling your toes.”

A version of this piece appears on the Sociological Imagination website

Twenty years ago Theodore Kaczynski, a Harvard-trained maths prodigy obsessed with technology’s destruction of nature, was given eight consecutive life sentences for sending letter bombs in the US post which killed three people and injured 23 others. Generally known as the ‘Unabomber’, he remains in a supermax prison in Colorado to this day.

It is perhaps easy to forget the sway that the Unabomber held on American society in the mid-1990s. Kaczynski managed to get a 35,000 word manifesto called ‘Industrial Society and Its Future’ published in both The New York Times and The Washington Post. It is arguably the most famous and influential statement of neo-Luddite philosophy and politics to this day. Now he is back with a new book, Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How.

Continue reading “Does the Unabomber Have a More Realistic Sense of Today's Existential Risks?” »