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I’m selling my laptop on eBay. It’s basically new, although the box has been opened. I wanted to downgrade the OS, but learned that one of the key drivers—it controls the camera and the hibernate function—was only available for Vista.
So it’s up for sale, at a good price.
ETA: It’s been sold.
I’ll be interviewed in Second Life on “Virtually Speaking” tonight at 9:00 PM ET.
I’m very happy with this quote in a CNN.com story on “whole-body imaging” at airports:
Bruce Schneier, an internationally recognized security technologist, said whole-body imaging technology “works pretty well,” privacy rights aside. But he thinks the financial investment was a mistake. In a post-9/11 world, he said, he knows his position isn’t “politically tenable,” but he believes money would be better spent on intelligence-gathering and investigations.
“It’s stupid to spend money so terrorists can change plans,” he said by phone from Poland, where he was speaking at a conference. If terrorists are swayed from going through airports, they’ll just target other locations, such as a hotel in Mumbai, India, he said.
“We’d be much better off going after bad guys … and back to pre-9/11 levels of airport security,” he said. “There’s a huge ‘cover your ass’ factor in politics, but unfortunately, it doesn’t make us safer.”
I’ve written about “cover your ass” security in the past, but it’s nice to see it in the press.
For the April 09 issue of Wired Magazine, I was asked to create a cryptographic puzzle based on the television show Lost. Specifically, I was given a “clue” to encrypt.
Here are details of the puzzle and solving attempts. Near as I can tell, no one has published a solution.
Creating something like this is very hard. The puzzle needs to be hard enough so that people don’t figure it out immediately, and easy enough so that people eventually figure it out. To make matters even more complicated, people will share their ideas on the Internet. So if the solution requires—and I’m making this up—expertise in Mayan history, carburetor design, algebraic topology, and Russian folk dancing, those people are likely to come together on the Internet. The puzzle has to be challenging for the group mind; not just for individual minds.
Do I need to give people a hint?
EDITED TO ADD (5/20): No hints required; there’s a solution posted.
The RSA Conference organizers asked me to write a restaurant review column for their show daily—distributed only electronically. I called my column “The Dining Cryptographer.” Here are links to them. I reviewed two restaurants each day: one walking distance from Moscone Center, and one a taxi ride away.
On the threats of insiders, from Federal News Radio.
Three nights ago, my encryption algorithm Blowfish was mentioned on the Fox show 24. The clip is available here, or streaming on Hulu. This is the exchange:
Janis Gold: I isolated the data Renee uploaded to Bauer but I can’t get past the filed header.
Larry Moss: What does that mean?
JG: She encrypted the name and address she used and I can’t seem to crack it.
LM: Who can?
JG: She used her personal computer. This is very serious encryption. I mean, there are some high-level people who can do it.
LM: Like who?
JG: Chloe O’Brian, but from what you told me earlier she’s too loyal to Bauer.
LM: Is her husband still here?
JG: Yes, he’s waiting to see you.
LM: He’s a level 6 analyst too.
…
JG: Mr. O’Brian, a short time ago one of our agents was in touch with Jack Bauer. She sent a name and address that we assume is his next destination. Unfortunately, it’s encrypted with Blowfish 148 and no one here knows how to crack that. Therefore, we need your help, please.
…
Morris O’Brian: Show me the file.
MO: Where’s your information. 16 or 32 bit
wavelengthword length?JG: 32.
MO: Native or modified data points?
JG: Native.
MO: The designer of this algorithm built a backdoor into his code. Decryption’s a piece of cake if you know the override codes.
LM: And you do?
MO: Yeah.
LM: Will this take long?
MO: Course not.
LM: Mr. O’Brian, can you tell me specifically when you’ll have the file decrypted?
MO: Yes.
MO: Now.
O’Brian spends just over 30 seconds at the keyboard.
This is the second time Blowfish has appeared on the show. It was broken the first time, too.
EDITED TO ADD (4/14): Avi Rubin comments.
Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.