Enigma Machine for Sale
A four-rotor Enigma machine — with rotors — is up for auction…. Continue reading Enigma Machine for Sale
Category Archives: historyofsecurity
On Marcus Hutchins
Long and nuanced story about Marcus Hutchins, the British hacker who wrote most of the Kronos malware and also stopped WannaCry in real time. Well worth reading…. Continue reading On Marcus Hutchins
ILOVEYOU Virus
It’s the twentieth anniversary of the ILOVEYOU virus, and here are three interesting articles about it and its effects on software design…. Continue reading ILOVEYOU Virus
Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and France SIGINT Alliance
This paper describes a SIGINT and code-breaking alliance between Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and France called Maximator: Abstract: This article is first to report on the secret European five-partner sigint alliance Maximator that started in the late 1970s. It discloses the name Maximator and provides documentary evidence. The five members of this European alliance are Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the… Continue reading Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and France SIGINT Alliance
Another Story of Bad 1970s Encryption
This one is from the Netherlands. It seems to be clever cryptanalysis rather than a backdoor. The Dutch intelligence service has been able to read encrypted communications from dozens of countries since the late 1970s thanks to a microchip, according t… Continue reading Another Story of Bad 1970s Encryption
Another Story of Bad 1970s Encryption
This one is from the Netherlands. It seems to be clever cryptanalysis rather than a backdoor. The Dutch intelligence service has been able to read encrypted communications from dozens of countries since the late 1970s thanks to a microchip, according to research by de Volkskrant on Thursday. The Netherlands could eavesdrop on confidential communication from countries such as Iran, Egypt… Continue reading Another Story of Bad 1970s Encryption
Story of Gus Weiss
This is a long and fascinating article about Gus Weiss, who masterminded a long campaign to feed technical disinformation to the Soviet Union, which may or may not have caused a massive pipeline explosion somewhere in Siberia in the 1980s, if in fact there even was a massive pipeline explosion somewhere in Siberia in the 1980s. Lots of information about… Continue reading Story of Gus Weiss
Security in 2020: Revisited
Ten years ago, I wrote an essay: "Security in 2020." Well, it’s finally 2020. I think I did pretty well. Here’s what I said back then: There’s really no such thing as security in the abstract. Security can only be defined in relation to something else. You’re secure from something or against something. In the next 10 years, the traditional… Continue reading Security in 2020: Revisited
Security in 2020: Revisited
Ten years ago, I wrote an essay: "Security in 2020." Well, it’s finally 2020. I think I did pretty well. Here’s what I said back then: There’s really no such thing as security in the abstract. Security can only be defined in relation to somethi… Continue reading Security in 2020: Revisited
Mapping Security and Privacy Research across the Decades
This is really interesting: "A Data-Driven Reflection on 36 Years of Security and Privacy Research," by Aniqua Baset and Tamara Denning: Abstract: Meta-research—research about research—allows us, as a community, to examine trends in our research and make informed decisions regarding the course of our future research activities. Additionally, overviews of past research are particularly useful for researchers or conferences new… Continue reading Mapping Security and Privacy Research across the Decades