As Freedom to Tinker readers may recall, I’ve been very concerned about the problems associated with the proposed Defend Trade Secrets Act. Ostensibly designed to combat cyberespionage against United States corporations, it is instead not a solution to that problem, and fraught with downsides. Today, over 40 colleagues in the academic world joined Eric Goldman, Chris Seaman, Sharon […]
Provisions: how Bitcoin exchanges can prove their solvency
October 26, 2015 by
Millions of Bitcoin users store their bitcoins with online exchanges (e.g. Coinbase, Kraken) which store bitcoins on their customers’ behalf. They present an interface that looks somewhat like an online bank, allowing users to log in and request payments to other users or withdrawals. For many users this approach makes a lot more sense than the traditional approach of storing private keys on your laptop or phone […]
How is NSA breaking so much crypto?
October 14, 2015 by
There have been rumors for years that the NSA can decrypt a significant fraction of encrypted Internet traffic. In 2012, James Bamford published an article quoting anonymous former NSA officials stating that the agency had achieved a “computing breakthrough” that gave them “the ability to crack current public encryption.” The Snowden documents also hint at […]
Classified material in the public domain: what's a university to do?
October 8, 2015 by
Yesterday I posted some thoughts about Purdue University’s decision to destroy a video recording of my keynote address at its Dawn or Doom colloquium. The organizers had gone dark, and a promised public link was not forthcoming. After a couple of weeks of hoping to resolve the matter quietly, I did some digging and decided […]
Berkeley releases report on barriers to cybersecurity research
September 29, 2015 by
I’m pleased to share this report, as I helped organize this event. Researchers associated with the UC Berkeley School of Information and School of Law, the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, and the International Computer Science Institute (ICSI) released a workshop report detailing legal barriers and other disincentives to cybersecurity research, and recommendations to […]
