Schneier on Security

More than 150 years after Bull Run—the long, bloody battle that foretold of a long, bloody Civil War—a new Bull Run is the symbol of a very different, bloodless fight.

“Bull Run” is code for a National Security Agency program that asks U.S. Internet security providers to poke holes in their systems (also known as “back doors”)—and to keep those requests—and weaknesses—a secret. “The conceit here is that only the NSA can exploit this vulnerability,” and gain access to encrypted Internet traffic, explained computer security and privacy specialist Bruce Schneier at a recent NSA surveillance briefing convened by the Open Technology Institute on Capitol Hill…