2010 February » Who is Hahleq?

Majority says government a threat to citizens rights

General, Politics, Tim's Opinion No Responses »

Feb 262010

CNN Poll: Majority says government a threat to citizens rights

via CNN Poll: Majority says government a threat to citizens’ rights.

Maybe there is hope given that this apparently “astonishing poll” reflects the firmly held belief of the crafters of the U.S. Constitution. Government is an evil. A necessary evil, but evil all the same and is to be kept small and easy to stomp on when it starts to do what it must by its nature… restrict freedom of the individual.

Want to fix the economy? Want to fix healthcare?

Reduce the number of regulations everywhere.
Reduce taxes across the board.
Reduce all levels of government employment.
Break the unions in all government hiring so the weak and the lazy can actually be fired. (Throw in the completely evil NEA while you’re at it).
Introduce “loser pays” tort reform.

That would do for a start as there would be such a boom as hasn’t been seen since at least the post-WW2 or 1980s boom and would likely be even bigger than that. Then the problem just becomes keeping those that feel guilty for living in the greatest country ever on earth to keep from gaining power and undoing what makes it great. Once we leave this obamanation behind, let’s vow to never return. Let our rally cry be, “Remember Carter and the obamanation!”.

FBI Investigating Web Spycam

Digital Life, Security No Responses »

Feb 242010

FBI Investigating Web SpycamAs a federal investigation begins, a security researcher has uncovered evidence related to the case and provided a way to identify the surveillance software

via FBI Investigating Web Spycam — InformationWeek.

This is a case and investigation to keep an eye on.

Why Did Rome Fall – And Why Does It Matter Now?

Economics, Politics No Responses »

Feb 182010

VDHs Private Papers::Why Did Rome Fall – And Why Does It Matter Now?.

Victor Davis Hanson as always well worth the time to read.

Social Engineering Scammers Offer Live Support

Digital Life, Security No Responses »

Feb 172010

Social Engineering Scammers Offer Live Support — InformationWeek.

Can’t be too careful out there.

Security chip that does encryption in PCs hacked

Digital Life, Security No Responses »

Feb 172010

Tarnovsky figured out a way to break chips that carry a “Trusted Platform Module,” or TPM, designation by essentially spying on them like a phone conversation. Such chips are billed as the industrys most secure and are estimated to be in as many as 100 million personal computers and servers, according to market research firm IDC.

via The Associated Press: Security chip that does encryption in PCs hacked.

Now for the really cool “how’d he do it?” part:

Tarnovsky needed six months to figure out his attack, which requires skill in modifying the tiny parts of the chip without destroying it.

Using off-the-shelf chemicals, Tarnovsky soaked chips in acid to dissolve their hard outer shells. Then he applied rust remover to help take off layers of mesh wiring, to expose the chips’ cores. From there, he had to find the right communication channels to tap into using a very small needle.

The needle allowed him to set up a wiretap and eavesdrop on all the programming instructions as they are sent back and forth between the chip and the computer’s memory. Those instructions hold the secrets to the computer’s encryption, and he didn’t find them encrypted because he was physically inside the chip.

Even once he had done all that, he said he still had to crack the “huge problem” of figuring out how to avoid traps programmed into the chip’s software as an extra layer of defense.

“This chip is mean, man — it’s like a ticking time bomb if you don’t do something right,” Tarnovsky said.

VDHs Private Papers::Its Not about Poverty

Politics No Responses »

Feb 082010

Confessions of Another Middle-Class TerroristIn the post–Major Hasan/Abdulmutallab era, we dont often hear the once-popular canard that poverty, oppression, and genuine grievances drive victimized Muslims — especially in the West — into the ranks of radical Islamic terrorism.

But the latest yuppie terrorist — Omar Hammami, the Alabaman who went to Somalia to kill non-believers and rant about the evil America that nourished him — is more candid than most. In a recent New York Times Magazine piece, Hammami is quoted as rejecting the claim that socioeconomic factors drove his own murderous extremism: “They cant blame it on poverty or any of that stuff. They will have to realize that its an ideology and its a way of life that make people change. They will also have to realize that their political agendas need to be fixed.”

via VDHs Private Papers::Its Not about Poverty.

Texas Bank Sues Customer After $800,000 Scam

Digital Life, Economics, Security No Responses »

Feb 022010

Texas Bank Sues Customer After $800,000 Scam.

So either the bank’s supposed “two-factor” solution flat out failed (seriously arguable that an IP address is a legitimate “what you have” factor, IMHO) or they processed it anyway? It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Looks like another case of sacrificing security at a real world cost for ease-of-use roughly tied into my most recent previous post.

Passwords remain weakest link in Web security | Service-Oriented Architecture | ZDNet.com

Digital Life, Security, Uncategorized No Responses »

Feb 022010

From the Department of Duh, really?

Passwords remain weakest link in Web security | Service-Oriented Architecture | ZDNet.com.

Frustrating that with all the focus on SSO without security (I’m talking to you OpenID folks) and all the security technologies available to grant both security and SSO (or Reduced Sign-On for you “SSO is impossible” folks) this hasn’t been addressed. I chalk it up to a lack of vision on certain IP holders and cowardice of those in a position to implement something real vs. never-ending “play projects”. Time for these folks to create some momentum (banks, huge portals, OS providers, large retailers, etc.). Time to get serious about providing real security starting at the point of authentication at which point a huge amount of powerful innovation in services could begin (emergence of the mythical semantic web).

Of course, till the current governmental economic dithering ends (reduce taxes and quit spending us into slavery), who wants to make an admittedly large entrepreneurial bet right now?