MetaFilter posts tagged with encryption

Clearly unprotected

dejah420 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:43:51 -0800

Clear passenger data stolen. A unencrypted laptop with the personal data, including name, address, SSi number, passport number, date of birth, etc. of every one of the 33,000+ users of the the Clear system has been stolen. The Clear system allows travelers who register and pay an annual fee to bypass airport security lines by using a smart card in some airports. TSA has suspended new registrations until Verified Identity Pass, Inc., a subsidiary of GE, figures out how to install PGP. VIP is the only private contractor allowed to register users to the Clear system. Via

Because DRAM doesn't get frostbite.

Skorgu — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:12:14 -0800

Whole-disk encryption defeated with canned air. [via.] Main site, with video. The security of whole-disk encryption rests on the fact that the secret key used to read the encrypted disk resides in the computer's main memory and thus disappears when the power is removed. It was widely believed that occurred quickly enough not to be trivially exploitable, an assumption that has proven incorrect.

3.14159265itwasthebestoftimesitwastheworstofti...

TimeTravelSpeed — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 19:20:32 -0800

Ever wondered if and where a specific set of numbers could be found in pi? Maybe you'd like to know where your birthday is? Or maybe just something funny. [prev. here, here] Psh, that's child's play. Old news. If you wanna be hip and play with the big boys and girls, you're gonna have to think bigger [previously]. Since computer files are simply numbers, then, in theory, images, audio, video, even wikipedia articles all exist in pi. In fact, all existing data in the universe must be somewhere in pi since it is an infinite, non-repeating sequence of numbers which appear with equal probability (so the theory goes). Some have suggested this is a useful file compression/encryption mechanism. Some have to see a doctor after hearing about it. And some just find its implications amusing. Too bad it's all bunk. But don't lose hope, there may be alternatives. My solution to the debate? -- f*ck it, let's just call it 3. I was surprised by the number of references to this all-things-in-pi concept throughout MeFi, but there was no post explicitly on the subject. I tried to give credit where it was due. Enjoy!

Want another ID?

adamvasco — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 03:49:40 -0800

New "Hi - tech" passport cracked. Standards for the new passports were set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in 2003 and adopted by the waiver countries and the US. The UK Home Office has adopted a very high encryption technology called 3DES - that is, to a military-level data-encryption standard times three. However they used non-secret information actually published in the passport to create a 'secret key'. That is the equivalent of installing a solid steel front door to your house and then putting the key under the mat.

Quantum Encryption

PreacherTom — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 07:25:47 -0800

Quantum Encryption Scientists have created an unbreakable cypher through the use of quantum physics, where a photon is observed and used as the basis for an encryption key. "Uncertainty is the principle we exploit. It's impossible to find the key, because the photon can be measured once and only once. An eavesdropper can't measure it, and so can't get the key." Props to Heisenberg!

Synchronized Chaos

ozomatli — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 14:50:03 -0800

The synchronization of two pendulum clocks was discovered in 1665 by Huygens. Two pendulum clocks mounted on the same wall always fell exactly out of phase with each other no matter what the starting conditions. Regardless of the initial conditions the system always ended up the same. In stark contrast, a chaotic system is extremely sensitive to initial conditions. How can these two seemingly seperate things be tied together? The synchronization of chaos. When two chaotic systems are synchronized together, information can be shared between them. It immediatly brings to mind applications for encryption, but it is still far away from everyday use.

technophobia?

Smedleyman — Fri, 27 May 2005 17:47:37 -0800

Technophobia? or ignorance? or mendacity? A Minnesota appeals court has ruled that the presence of encryption software on a computer may be viewed as evidence of criminal intent. The specific crime here aside, why is encryption - and by extension privacy - viewed as something seedy?

Vetinari — Thu, 11 Jul 2002 05:44:34 -0800

Homer Simpson: Hack your DVD player. It seems in countries in which the DVD Copy Control Authority doesn't own the government, even the giants of corpmedia don't like the "protection" features the platform foists on consumers. On Fox's Simpsons UK DVD release FAQ page, Homer himself says "I have no idea whatsoever what regional coding means. But it is essential that you buy a multi-regional player. Do it now." Is the DVD region-coding system really only relevant in the United States?

myl — Mon, 29 Apr 2002 07:29:37 -0800

Putting free, unencrypted copies on the web increases book sales, according to science fiction writer Eric Flint.

Brilliantcrank — Tue, 20 Nov 2001 20:42:48 -0800

FBI software cracks encryption wall The FBI is developing software capable of inserting a computer virus onto a suspect’s machine and obtaining encryption keys...