Schneier on Security

Despite oven-hot July heat, a recent trip to Las Vegas to hear Bruce Schneier speak to IT security pros and customers at the second annual Black Hat Briefings (www.blackhat.com) was well worthwhile.

In remarks titled “A Hacker Looks at Cryptography,” Schneier punctured the hype that often surrounds his own area of expertise. You might not expect to hear Schneier, author of the widely praised book “Applied Cryptography,” reminding an audience of a comment that’s often quoted, but that neither of the suspected sources will admit to having made: “If you think cryptography can solve your problem, then you don’t understand your problem and you don’t understand cryptography.”…