News Tagged "Slashdot"
Page 1 of 1
Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World (Review)
In Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World, author Bruce Schneier could have justifiably written an angry diatribe full of vitriol against President Obama, his administration, and the NSA for their wholesale spying on innocent Americans and violations of myriad laws and the Constitution. Instead, he has written a thoroughly convincing and brilliant book about big data, mass surveillance and the ensuing privacy dangers facing everyone.
A comment like what’s the big deal? often indicates a naiveté about a serious significant underlying issue. The idea that if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear is a dangerously narrow concept on the value of privacy. For many people the notion that the NSA was performing spying on Americans was perceived as not being a big deal, since if a person is innocent, then what they have to worry about. In the book, Schneier debunks that myth and many others, and defends the important of privacy…
Book Review: Liars and Outliers
It is said that the song Wipe Out launched a generation of drummers. In the world of information security, the classic Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C by Bruce Schneier may have been the book that launched a generation of new cryptographers. Schneier’s latest work of art is Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust that Society Needs to Thrive. For those that are looking for a follow-up to Applied Cryptography, this it is not. In fact, it is hard to classify this as an information security title and in fact the book is marked for the current affairs/sociology section. Whatever section this book ultimately falls in, the reader will find that Schneier is one of the most original thinkers around…
Schneier on Security (Book Review)
“There is a perception in both the private and government sector, that security, both physical and digital, is something you can buy. Witness the mammoth growth of airport security products following 9/11, and the sheer number of vendors at security conferences. With that, government officials and corporate executives often think you can simply buy products and magically get instant security by flipping on the switch. The reality is that security is not something you can buy; it is something you must get.”
Perhaps no one in the world gets security like author Bruce Schneier does. Schneier is a person who I am proud to have as a colleague [Schneier and I are both employed by the same parent company, but work in different divisions, in different parts of the country]. …
Secrets & Lies: Digital Security In A Networked World
Bruce Schneier, well-known security and encryption expert, and author of Applied Cryptography has recently had his newest book published, entitled Secrets & Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World, which explores the world of security as a system. Read the entire review below.
Secrets & Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World
author: Bruce Schneier
pages: 412
publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 09/2000
rating: 10
reviewer: Jeff “hemos” Bates
ISBN: 0471253111
summary: A well written, well researched exploration of digital security as a system…
Crypto Guru Bruce Schneier Answers
Most of the questions we got for crypto guru Bruce Schneier earlier this week were pretty deep, and so are his answers. But even if you’re not a crypto expert, you’ll find them easy to understand, and many of Bruce’s thoughts (especially on privacy and the increasing lack thereof) make interesting reading even for those of you who have no interest in crypto because you believe you have “nothing to hide.” This is a *long and strong* Q&A session.
First Bruce says, by way of introduction…
“I’d like to start by thanking people for sending in questions. I enjoyed answering all of them…
Applied Cryptography / Bruce Schneier
This review also appeared in Slashdot.
More than any other field in computer science, cryptography is associated with computer warfare. Recent international treaties define cryptographic algorithms as weapons, and the laws of many countries prohibit either the development, the usage, or the export of cryptographic algorithms. Yet while feared by governments, cryptography is one of the most fascinating—and useful—fields of algorithmics.
The whole point of cryptography is to solve problems. (Actually, that’s the whole point of computers—something many people tend to forget.) Cryptography solves problems that involve secrecy, authentication, integrity, and dishonest people. You can learn all about cryptographic algorithms and techniques, but these are academic unless they can solve a problem…
Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.