Pulitzer Prize-Winner James Risen Leaving The New York TImes – HuffPost

Posted on July 27, 2017 by admin

Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter James Risen is leaving The New York Times after nearly two decades, a distinguished run that included standout reporting on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Bush administrations bogus case for invading Iraq, and rampant government surveillance.

Risen, a press-freedom advocate, successfully battled two Washington administrations trying to compel him to reveal a confidential source.

He is the latest high-profile Times journalist to take a voluntary buyout as the paper reorganizes its newsroom. His exit follows the news Thursday that influential book critic Michiko Kakutani also is departing.

Risen confirmed to HuffPost hes leaving the paper, but declined to elaborate.

Risen began his reporting career at the Detroit Free Press in the early 1980s. He spent 14 years at the Los Angeles Times before joining the Times Washington bureau in 1998.

He was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team covering intelligence and global terrorism in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and produced some of the Times most skeptical reporting on the Bush administrations case for invading Iraq, even asmore credulous reportinglanded on the front page.

Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

Risen and then-Times reporter Eric Lichtblau broke the news in December 2005 that the Bush administration had secretly authorized the National Security Agency to spy on Americans a blockbuster story that helped net the pair a Pulitzer Prize the following year.

The timing of the NSA story came under scrutiny after it was revealed that Times editors withheld the article for more than a year under pressure from the Bush administration. Risen appeared to force his managements hand and spur publication by planning to include details of the NSA spying program in his own book.

Risen later recalled there was a massive game of chicken between me, my book and The New York Times. The book, State of War, was published in early 2006. The editors were furious at me, he said years later in an interview. They thought I was being insubordinate.

It was Risens reporting inState of War on a bungled CIA operation that prompted the Bush administration to open a leak investigation. Risen refused to reveal his source. The Obama administration, which prosecuted more government officials under the Espionage Act in cases involving disclosures to the news media, also tried compelling Risen to testify about the source for a chapter in the book. The longlegal ordeal finally ended in 2015, with the identity of Risens source still confidential.

Risen has been outspoken about the Obama administrations aggressive pursuit of leakers, calling the former president the greatest enemy to press freedom in a generation. Shortly after the 2016 election, Risen wrote that journalists should thank Obama if President Donald Trump targets the press, arguing that the outgoing administration laid the groundwork for doing so.

Times colleague Matt Apuzzo, a fellow Pulitzer winner whose own reporting prompted multiple leak investigations during the Obama era, told HuffPost he considers Risen a mentor.

Long before he was an example of how to stand up for press freedom, Jim was the example of how to cover national security, Apuzzo said. His work will outlive us all.

This article has been updated to include highlights of Risens career.

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Pulitzer Prize-Winner James Risen Leaving The New York TImes - HuffPost

Cain: President Trump is reasserting results; Declassified memos reveal Obama admin. NSA privacy violations – Fox News

Posted on July 27, 2017 by admin

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," July 25, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: This is a "Fox News Alert." And we are broadcasting from the swamp in Washington, D.C. And welcome to "Hannity."

A brand-new bombshell from The Hill's John Solomon reveals the depth of the Obama era NSA spying and civil liberties violations. John Solomon, along with Circa News's Sara Carter -- they will join us tonight on this explosive story.

Also, the president has just landed at Joint Base Andrews. And earlier tonight, he took his message directly to you, the American people. He had a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, where he pushed his agenda and took on his critics. And that is the subject of tonight's very important transitional "Opening Monologue."

All right, during tonight's massive rally in Ohio, President Trump issued an urgent call, pushing Congress to finally get rid of ObamaCare and to replace it with something that actually works for you, the American people. It's time for these guys in the swamp, in the sewer here in D.C. to get to work. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We're now one step closer to liberating our citizens from this ObamaCare nightmare!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And delivering great health care for the American people. We're going to do that, too. The Senate is working not only to repeal ObamaCare but to deliver great health care for the American people. Any senator who votes against repeal and replace is telling America that they are fine with the "Obama care" nightmare! And I predict they'll have a lot of problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: And I predict he's right. But repealing and replacing "Obama care" is not the only urgent task on the president's agenda. Now, listen to the president earlier tonight reassuring the American people that building the wall on our southern border is not just an empty campaign promise. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: After spending billion dollars defending other nations' borders, we are finally defending our borders!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Don't even think about it. We will build the wall.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Don't even think about it.

I watch the media as they say, Well, he just had some fun during the campaign on the wall. That wasn't fun, folks! We're building that wall. And walls do work. And we're going to have great people come into our country, but we're not going to put ourselves through the problems that we've had for so many years!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Is Congress listening? Now, the president also promised to drive out violent cartel-linked gangs and to put an end finally to sanctuary cities once and for all. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The predators and criminal aliens who poison our communities with drugs and prey on innocent young people, these beautiful, beautiful innocent young people, will find no safe haven anywhere in our country. And that is why my administration is launching a nationwide crackdown on sanctuary cities!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: American cities should be sanctuaries for law-abiding Americans, for people that look up to the law, for people that respect the law, not for criminals and gang members that we want the hell out of our country!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Now, the president also spoke about lowering taxes in tonight's speech. Please lower taxes. Please stop burdening us! Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: My administration is working every single day to heed and honor the will of the voters. That includes working on one of the biggest tax cuts in American history. And actually, if I get what I want, it will be the single biggest tax cut in American history!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: We have the highest taxes anywhere in the world, and this will really bring them down to one of the lowest. And we really have no choice. We will have growth. We will have everything that we've dreamed of having. It's time to let Americans keep more of their own money. It's time to bring new companies to our shores and to create a new era of growth, prosperity and wealth!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: What a great idea. Let's get Americans back to work, back in the labor force, and of course, out of poverty and off of food stamps. Republicans, what do you stand for?

Now, the president's rally didn't just include plans for the future. He also touted a long list of accomplishments. Now, despite what the left- wing mainstream establishment media is reporting -- well, the president -- he has been very busy the last six months, working on trying to push through his bold agenda despite pretty much zero help from any Democrats, and frankly, weak Republicans.

And here's the president talking about what he has accomplished so far these last six months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Our 2nd Amendment is very, very sound again. That would have been gonzo. It would have been gone.

We've eliminated burdensome regulations at record speed, and many, many more are coming off. And boy, have we put those coal miners and coal back on the map. You've seen that, huh?

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: We've achieved a historic increase in defense spending to get our troops the support they so richly deserve. We have signed new legislation to hold federal workers accountable for the care they provide to our great, great veterans!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: To protect American jobs and workers, I withdrew the United States from both the Trans-Pacific Partnership potential disaster...

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: ... and the job-killing Paris climate accord. Believe me.

Unemployment last month hit a 16-year low. Since my election, we've added much more than one million jobs!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Believe it or not, you're never going to hear that in mainstream media. And what you just heard is only a fraction of what the president has actually accomplished.

Also tonight, in true Trump fashion, the president fought back against his critics, the best part of the speech. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Sometimes they say, He doesn't act presidential.

(BOOS)

TRUMP: And I say, Hey, look, great schools, smart guy. It's so easy to act presidential, but that's not going to get it done. In fact, I said it's much easier, by the way, to act presidential than what we're doing here tonight! Believe me. And I said...

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And I said, with the exception of the late, great Abraham Lincoln, I can be more presidential than any president that's ever held this office! That I can tell you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Do we really want a president who just acts? Now, tonight, the president sent a very important message that will reverberate across America and into the swamp and sewer that is Washington, D.C., where I am tonight.

And the president's not going to sit idly by and watch Congress fumble his agenda. He's going to take his message again and again directly to you, the American people. It's time to put pressure on lawmakers to finally do their job and get something done.

Here with reaction, author of the book "Putin's Gambit," Fox Business host, our sister network, Lou Dobbs is with us.

You know, every time the president goes directly to the American people, you see the reaction. There is not one iota's difference before the campaign. And every agenda item he has, which helped a lot of these senators and congressmen get elected, is supported by those crowds. What is Washington not getting? What are Republicans not getting?

LOU DOBBS, FOX BUSINESS: Just about everything, as you know, Sean. The president today was -- you know, as you say, this rally today was just like every rally that he carried out as a candidate for president. The love in the room for the president was palpable.

He is watching -- he doesn't need any extra energy, but he's drawing great energy from these people who are his supporters. They are also the people for whom he is working, not K Street, the lobbyists, the billion-dollar donors that expect to have the federal government heel and certainly the leadership of the Republican Party. They're so accustomed to them heeling to their every order and beck and call.

He is frustrating the establishment. That's what we're watching, is a conflict between this president, the status quo, and frankly, the defenders of the status quo, whether they're Republicans or Democrats. And he is winning, winning and winning. And the people in that room in Youngstown, Ohio, all 7,000 of them, know that very well, as do tens of millions of other Americans.

HANNITY: But Lou, if the Republicans don't do their part -- this is a seven-year promise to replace, replace "Obama care." They needed Mike Pence for the motion to proceed today...

DOBBS: Right.

HANNITY: ... which doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence that they're going to get this whole thing done or done in a way that they had promised for seven years. And think I think you got an economic plan so we can get Americans...

DOBBS: Right.

HANNITY: ... out of poverty, off of food stamps...

DOBBS: No, you're right.

HANNITY: ... back to work and get the border built and funded. And I don't think Congress realizes they will pay the price if they don't get the job done.

DOBBS: That is the sub-text here. You're exactly right again, Sean. This is -- this threat that is looming is for every one of those congressmen who are hesitant and hesitating to support this president and his agenda, and particularly the leadership, the speaker and the majority leader of the Senate, Ryan and Mitch McConnell. They had better deliver this time because it will be fundamentally a question of the survival of the Republican Party.

Donald Trump is -- what he was saying in Youngstown, Ohio, in my opinion, in addition to everything else that was so terrific about the economy, about turning this country around, he's serving notice that those are Trump Democrats in Youngstown, Ohio, which he lost by 3 points. But four years earlier, Barack Obama won that county by 27 points!

These are his people. And you heard Gino (ph), the man he brought up on the stage, and the chants for Gino from the crowd because he was talking about how much this president is loved by the forgotten man and woman. And all of those people in Youngstown represent much of the bread basket, where they've lost a third of the population of Youngstown, Ohio, their factories once one of the top steel producing cities in the country. And it's -- it's remarkable the notice that he served. And I guarantee you -- I don't know whether McConnell and Ryan got it, but I can guarantee you Schumer and Pelosi get it, and they're worried to death.

HANNITY: Yes. And by the way, a better way...

DOBBS: Oh, yes.

HANNITY: They -- there's no way for them, and especially after eight years of failure. Lou Dobbs, I know you stayed late for us tonight. As always, thanks you for being with us.

DOBBS: Great to be with you, Sean. Thanks.

HANNITY: And here now with more reaction to the president's rally in Youngstown, Ohio, we have Fox News contributor Herman Cain. One of the things -- I noticed that Chuck Grassley in the Senate is saying, Wait a minute. If outside interference from a foreign country is a big deal -- Russia, Russia, Russia -- OK, we've got evidence of collusion with Ukraine and influence in the election, as well. Also, we have the Uranium One deal. And then I look at House conservatives. They're pushing for a probe of Comey and Clinton and I know others are talking about Loretta Lynch.

The part of me is torn, Herman Cain, Mr. 999, positive ideas -- it's torn because it's not fair what we've been seeing, but the agenda the president talked about, repeal, replace and schools and borders and listing his accomplishments and Gorsuch -- at the end of the day, I suspect if he succeeds, that will push Republicans over the top in 2018 and 2020. I'm torn what to do.

HERMAN CAIN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: But many of them don't realize that. Sean, that speech in Ohio reminded me of the three rallies I attended in Georgia, where I helped to introduce this president. He is re-asserting results, results, results. That's why he got the reaction from the crowd that he got. The Democrats are all about resist, resist, resist, and it's not resonating with people.

Hip, hip, hooray that he's taking his message directly to the people because the mainstream media's not going to do it. So he's doing it himself. And I think that helps to re-energize those people that voted for him because of exactly the things he is able to do, even despite the pushback by RINOs, Republicans in name only, and Democrats.

HANNITY: We learned that in spite of, what, 60 to 68 votes, repeal and replace -- Herman, we're on the radio. We were telling our audience those are showboats because if they really wanted to repeal and replace in those votes, they would have used the constitutional authority and the power of the purse, and they never did it. And the one guy that tried to use it, Ted Cruz, was excoriated by the Republican Party. So we knew they were showboats.

But on repeal and replace now, we learned 100 House Republicans had no intention of keeping that promise. And now you see the Senate just for the motion to proceed needing Mike Pence. This does not bode well, in my mind.

CAIN: You're right, Sean. Here's the deal. They thought that the American people were going to have very short memories. That's what they still think. What this president is doing is reminding the American people of what these Republicans promised.

And I got to tell you, last night on your show, you challenged your viewers to do exactly what I challenge my listeners to do, send e-mails, make phone calls and let them know that you are paying attention. That's the only thing that gets their attention. That's what gets results.

And with the president giving the kind of patriotic, pressable (ph) results-oriented speech that he's given today, it reminds people that, Yes, if I send that e-mail, if I make that phone call to my representative or to my senators, it will make a difference. I think this is great for the direction that this president is trying to go.

HANNITY: All right, Herman Cain, always good to see you. We appreciate it.

All right, we got...

CAIN: Thank you.

HANNITY: ... a busy breaking news night tonight here. "Hannity" in D.C. In a mini monologue, we will lay out the scandals Congress and the DOJ should be investigating and we'll get reaction, Monica Crowley, Geraldo Rivera.

And also tonight...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm here this evening to cut through the fake news filter and to speak straight to the American people!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: President Trump calling out the fake news media at tonight's rally in Ohio. Mercedes Schlapp, Lanny Davis, Larry Elder will join us with reaction.

And tonight, a "Hannity" investigation. An explosive new report by The Hill's John Solomon. It is about the Obama administration's NSA spying and civil liberties violations you need to know about. John Solomon, Sara Carter join us as we continue from the sewer and the swamp that is Washington, D.C.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Your future is what I'm fighting for each and every day. Here is just a small sample what have we accomplished in just our first six months in office. And I'll say this, and you know, they always like to say, Well, I don't know. But I think that with few exceptions, no president has done anywhere near what we've done in his first six months.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Not even close.

Top 5: Risks of encryption backdoors – TechRepublic

Posted on July 27, 2017 by admin

There's lots of talk of mandating a backdoor to encrypted services so that law enforcement can use them under warrants. The need is real and there are some reasonable compromises that can keep all our data safe and still help catch bad guys.

But a backdoor for the good guys is potentially a backdoor for the bad guys too. Here are five reasons a backdoor in encryption is a bad idea:

1. Strong encryption protects dissidents and democracy advocates in repressive regimes as well. Putting in backdoors limits their options and weakens their protections.

2. The backdoor goes beyond the phone. IoT devices are becoming more and more frequent, meaning any device with a connection could have a backdoor. If someone gets the keys or figures out how the backdoor works, they could get inside lights, door locks and more.

3. Dual key systems are inherently less secure. Having one key that you the user are the only with access to is the only way to make sure that you are the only weak point. Having dual keys stored in a government agency gives attackers more targets for social engineering and other attacks.

SEE: Ethical Password Hacking and Security (TechRepublic Academy)

4. Criminals can choose not to use the services with backdoors. Open source encryption tools are available that nobody controls, and large enough organizations can create their own. So you're weakening security for law abiding citizens more than criminals.

5. You can't make math illegal. The solution to our last point is to make any encryption without a backdoor against the law. Except that encryption is generally just multiplying two prime numbers. It would be hard to make that against the law.

Now there is more tech companies could do to assist law enforcement. Creative solutions being proposed include pushing updates that do things like say, surreptitiously turn on logging in an app like WhatsApp for a suspect who is the target of a court approved warrant.

That may or may not be the right answer of course but that's where productive discussion can be had. The kind of things that lessen a criminal's security without breaking encryption for everyone.

Also see:

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Top 5: Risks of encryption backdoors - TechRepublic

Oak Ridge licenses its quantum encryption method – FCW.com

Posted on July 27, 2017 by admin

Cybersecurity

A Qubitekk prototype will incorporate ORNL's single-photon source approach, thereby bringing the device closer to generating pairs of quantum light particles in a controlled, deterministic manner that is useful for quantum encryption. (Photo by Qubitekk)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has licensed a method its researchers developed to keep encrypted machine-to-machine data from being intercepted.

San Diego-based quantum technology company Qubitekk has signed a non-exclusive license for the labs method of "down-conversion" of photons, which produces random, unpredictable pairs of the particles to confound the interception of data, the lab said in a July 25 statement.

"Current encryption techniques rely on complex mathematical algorithms to code information that is decipherable only to the recipient who knows the encryption key," according to the statement. "Scientists, including a team at the Department of Energys ORNL, are leveraging the quantum properties of photons to enable novel cryptographic technologies that can better protect critical network infrastructures."

According to lab officials, the technique harnesses quantum physics to expose, in real-time, the presence of bad actors who might be trying to intercept secret keys to encryption algorithms used by the energy sector.

Qubitekk President and CTO Duncan Earl said in the ORNL statement that his company plans to enhance its existing single-photon quantum information prototype by integrating the labs design. Earl is a former ORNL researcher who worked with the lab's Cyber Warfare group and Quantum Information Sciences team.

The company's work could lead to a tenfold increase in quantum encryption rates and the ability to maintain high data transmission speeds over longer distances, he added.

Earl said the firm plans to conduct field trials with its customers, which include California utility companies.

About the Author

Mark Rockwell is a staff writer at FCW.

Before joining FCW, Rockwell was Washington correspondent for Government Security News, where he covered all aspects of homeland security from IT to detection dogs and border security. Over the last 25 years in Washington as a reporter, editor and correspondent, he has covered an increasingly wide array of high-tech issues for publications like Communications Week, Internet Week, Fiber Optics News, tele.com magazine and Wireless Week.

Rockwell received a Jesse H. Neal Award for his work covering telecommunications issues, and is a graduate of James Madison University.

Click here for previous articles by Rockwell. Contact him at mrockwell@fcw.com or follow him on Twitter at @MRockwell4.

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Oak Ridge licenses its quantum encryption method - FCW.com

Government must leave encryption alone, or it will endanger blockchain – The Australian Financial Review

Posted on July 27, 2017 by admin

IN 2015, Ledger Assets co-founders Nuno Martins (left), John Bulich and Gov van Ek said they had created the first Australian blockchain

If we could give Malcolm Turnbull one piece of economic advice right now one piece of advice about how to protect the economy against a challenging and uncertain future it would be this:don't mess with encryption.

Earlier this month the government announced that it was going to "impose an obligation" on device manufacturers and service providers to provide law enforcement authorities access to encrypted information on the presentation of a warrant.

At the moment it's unclear what exactly this means. Attorney-General George Brandis and Malcolm Turnbull have repeatedly denied they want a legislated "backdoor" into encrypted devices, but the loose way they've used that language suggests some sort of backdoor requirement is still a real possibility.

Hopefully we'll discover more when the legislation is introduced in the August sitting weeks. Turnbull did say at the press conference "I'm not suggesting this is not without some difficulty". The government may not have made any final decisions yet.

But before any legislation is introduced, the government needs to understand what the stakes are in as they strive against encryption.

Anything the government does to undermine the reliability of encryption could have deleterious consequences for what we believe will be the engine of economic growth in decades to come: the blockchain protocol.

The blockchain is the distributed and decentralised ledger that powers the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Blockchain constitutes a suite of five technologies:cryptography, a database that can be added to but not altered, peer-to-peer networking, an application of game theory, and an algorithm for ensuring a consensus about what information is held on the ledger.

Taken separately, these are long established technologies and techniques even mundane ones. But taken together, they constitute an entirely new tool for creating political, economic, and social relationships.

The possibilities far exceed digital currencies. Already banks and other financial institutions are trying to integrate blockchains into their business structures: blockchains drastically reduce the costs of tracking, recording, and verifying transactions. Almost any business or government organisation that is done with a database now can be done more efficiently, more reliably, and cheaper with a blockchain property registers, intellectual property, security and logistics, healthcare records, you name it.

But these much publicised blockchain applications are just a small taste of the technology's possibility. "Smart" self-executing contracts and massively distributed organisational structures enabled by the blockchain will allow the creation of new forms of business structures and new ways to work together in every sector and every industry.

In fact, we think that the blockchain is so significant that it should be treated as its own category of human organisation. There are firms, there are markets, there are governments, and now there are blockchains.

But the blockchain revolution is not inevitable.

If there is one key technology in the blockchain, it is cryptography. There are lots of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs playing around with lots of different adaptations of the blockchain protocol, but this one is a constant: the blockchain's nested levels of encryption are built to ensure that once something is placed on the blockchain it is permanent, immutable, and only accessible to those who own it.

Blockchains only work because their users have absolute confidence that the system is secure.

Any legal restrictions, constraints or hurdles placed on encryption will be a barrier to the introduction of this remarkable new economic technology. In fact, any suggestion of future regulatory challenges to encryption will pull the handbrake on blockchain in Australia. In the wake of the banking, mining and carbon taxes, Australia already has a serious regime uncertainty problem.

Melbourne in particular is starting to see the growth of a small but prospective financial technology industry of which blockchain is a central part. The Australian Financial Review reported earlier this week about the opening of a new fintech hub Stone & Chalk in the establishment heart of Collins St. What's happening in Melbourne is exactly the sort of innovation-led economic growth that the Coalition government was talking about in the 2016 election.

But the government won't be able to cash in on those innovation dividends if they threaten encryption: the simple and essential technology at the heart of the blockchain.

Chris Berg, Sinclair Davidson and Jason Potts are with the School of Economics, Finance and Marketing at RMIT University.

China announces quantum leap in encryption – Fox News

Posted on July 27, 2017 by admin

Communications just got tighter between Alice and Bob, leaving Eve out in the cold. These aren't real people, but rather the names commonly used in scenarios describing quantum cryptography, a type of technology surpassing traditional encryption in terms of keeping communications networks safe from hackers.

It's a technology that China is now announcing has been incorporated into an "unhackable" system it's about to launch, the BBC reports. About 200 military, government, finance, and electricity users will have access to the system in Jinan, which the South China Morning Post reports is expected to be operational by next month, per local media.

China Daily notes the system, which cost about $17.8 million, can encrypt over 4,000 pieces of data per second. In regular encryption, a message can only be opened with a "key"usually a complex math problemthat only the sender and receiver have access to.

But as computers become more powerful, they're increasingly able to crack these codes, making encryption not as secure. In quantum cryptography, the key is sent ahead of the message, "embedded in particles of light," per the BBC; if a hacker tries to grab those particles, they're destroyed, and the sender and receiver will realize someone's trying to access their infomeaning they won't send the message.

With this type of system, the BBC notes, China will be among the first to make this quantum leap, even as the West lags behind. It's not the first quantum-based communications network for China: The country has tested the technology in a satellite and via a link between Beijing and Shanghai.

(Here's how ransomware exploits encryption.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: China Announces Quantum Leap in Encryption

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China announces quantum leap in encryption - Fox News

Venafi Study: Consumers Conflicted About Encryption Backdoors – Business Wire (press release)

Posted on July 27, 2017 by admin

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Venafi, the leading provider of machine identity protection, today announced the findings of a study that evaluated attitudes and opinions of 3,000 adult consumers from the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany on initiatives that would grant governments more access to private, encrypted data.

According to the study, half of consumers (51 percent) do not believe their government can protect their personal data, and nearly two-thirds of respondents (65 percent) suspect their government already abuses its powers to access the data of citizens. Additionally, 68 percent of respondents believe governments should not force private companies to hand over encrypted personal data without consumer consent.

The study also found that consumers are concerned about the impact encryption backdoors would have on their personal privacy. Sixty fire percent of respondents state that governments should not be able to force citizens to turn over personal data, such as the contents of mobile phones, social media, email and online activity, without consent.

The results of this research indicate that security and privacy are probably going to get a lot worse before they get better, said Jeff Hudson, CEO of Venafi. Its very clear that consumers are confused about what access to encrypted data will mean to their privacy, and its equally clear that governments dont understand how encryption backdoors will be used to undermine our global digital economy. The negative impact encryption backdoors will have on every aspect of security and privacy is tremendous.

Despite concerns regarding government abuse, many consumers remain conflicted over how encryption backdoors would impact both their privacy and national security:

Hudson continued: Giving governments access to encryption will not make us safer from terrorism in fact, the opposite is true. Most people dont trust the government to protect data and they dont believe the government is effective at fighting cybercrime. Its ironic that we believe we would be safer if governments were given more power to access private encrypted data because this will undermine the security of our entire digital economy.

Encryption backdoors create vulnerabilities that can be exploited by a wide range of malicious actors, including hostile or abusive government agencies. Billions of people worldwide rely on encryption to protect a wide range of critical infrastructure, including global financial systems, electrical grid and transportation systems, from cybercriminals who steal data for financial gain or espionage.

The study was conducted by One Poll and completed in July 2017. It analyzed responses from three thousand adult consumers from the United States, United Kingdom and Germany.

For more detailed information on the survey, please visit: https://www.venafi.com/blog/survey-results-consumers-skeptical-of-government-backdoors

About Venafi

Venafiis the cybersecurity market leader in machine identity protection, securing all connections and communications between machines. Venafi protects machine identity types by orchestrating cryptographic keys and digital certificates for SSL/TLS, IoT, mobile and SSH. Venafi provides global visibility of machine identities and the risks associated with them for the extended enterprise on premises, mobile, virtual, cloud and IoT at machine speed and scale. Venafi puts this intelligence into action with automated remediation that reduces the security and availability risks connected with weak or compromised machine identities while safeguarding the flow of information to trusted machines and preventing communication with machines that are not trusted.

With over 30 patents, Venafi delivers innovative solutions for the world's most demanding, security-conscious Global 5000 organizations, including the top five U.S. health insurers, the top five U.S. airlines, four of the top five U.S., U.K. and South African banks, and four of the top five U.S. retailers. For more information, visit http://venafi.com.

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Venafi Study: Consumers Conflicted About Encryption Backdoors - Business Wire (press release)

General Dynamics Adds New NSA-certified TACLANE-FLEX Type 1 Network Encryption Platform to Secure Product … – PR Newswire (press release)

Posted on July 27, 2017 by admin

"We designed the TACLANE-FLEX to be scalable and customizable to meet the fluid demands of today's missions," said Mike Tweed-Kent, vice president and general manager of the Cyber and Electronic Warfare Systems line of business for General Dynamics Mission Systems. "TACLANE is the most widely deployed HAIPE encryptor in the world, and General Dynamics will continue to invest in and enhance this product family to ensure it addresses customers' requirements today and supports the unforeseen needs of tomorrow."

Built upon the market-leading TACLANE technology, the TACLANE-FLEX is the same form and fit of the TACLANE-Micro (KG-175D), allowing simple swap-out for customers in need of increased data rates and security features in a small form factor. The combination of its low size, weight and power (SWaP) and ruggedized design, provides users with the option to use the TACLANE-FLEX in tactical or strategic environments.

As bandwidth needs grow, and applications and environments change, TACLANE-FLEX offers a cost-effective approach that allows customers to tailor their security solution based on current needs and budget. The innovative design makes TACLANE-FLEX a delivery platform for future software-based capability upgrades, allowing it to scale to meet the dynamics needs customers will face in the years to come.

Customers are able to add functionality to TACLANE-FLEX through two optional software features, TACLANE Trusted Sensor Software and Agile Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN). TACLANE Trusted Sensor Software provides intrusion detection and prevention system capabilities that monitor network traffic, helping customers increase their knowledge of who and what is on their network. Agile VLAN allows users to simultaneously send and receive Layer 2 (Ethernet) and HAIPE traffic, helping to facilitate the flexible deployment of secure networks.

With an expected availability date mid-2017, GEM One, an enterprise-level remote encryptor management solution, enables users to configure and maintain a dispersed network of TACLANE encryptors, easing deployment and increasing network situational awareness. INEs are used extensively in the commercial and government sectors to protect critical networks and infrastructures.

"The diverse mission requirements of our customers warrant flexible products and solutions that address critical needs and are easy to use and deploy," said Paul Pittelli, NSA Chief, Information Assurance Capabilities. "The TACLANE-FLEX encryption platform enables customers to field a single device that allows for various levels of customization including its ability to support layer 2 communications while maintaining interoperability with currently deployed HAIPE devices."

General Dynamics' Customer Investment Protection Program encourages organizations protecting critical networks and infrastructure to maximize their investment and maintain their security posture by using General Dynamics' trade-in programs. A trade-in program will be offered for the TACLANE-FLEX, allowing users of the current HAIPE INEs to take advantage of the new customizable encryption platform's scalable speed and cybersecurity features. Call 888-897-3148 or email our team for additional information.

General Dynamics Mission Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). For more information about General Dynamics Mission Systems, please visit gdmissionsystems.com and follow us on Twitter @GDMS.

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/general-dynamics-adds-new-nsa-certified-taclane-flex-type-1-network-encryption-platform-to-secure-product-portfolio-300495314.html

SOURCE General Dynamics Mission Systems

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General Dynamics Adds New NSA-certified TACLANE-FLEX Type 1 Network Encryption Platform to Secure Product ... - PR Newswire (press release)

Manage Type 1 Diabetes With Lifesaving Open Source Software – Edgy Labs (blog)

Posted on July 27, 2017 by admin

A Type 1 diabetes patient took it upon herself to push diabetes technologies forward. She built a pancreatic system to monitor her diabetes, but more impressively, she gave it away for free.

Diabetes is one of the most common diseases in the world, with 8.5% global prevalence among adults over 18, which is about 422 million (WHO, 2014).

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), in 2015, nearly 1 in 10 Americans had diabetes. Thats 9.4% of the population, or 30.3 million people. Among those, 1.25 million have type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic autoimmune disease that destroys the pancreas cells that secrete insulin, the hormone regulating blood glucose or blood sugar levels.

Most TD1 cases occur before the age of 20, and from then on the patient will have to learn how to manage their disease throughout their adult life.

If monitoring blood sugar levels is important for type 2 diabetes patients, its crucial for TD1 patients.

TD1 patients must make decisions several times every day on the precise dose of insulin to be administered, either by injection or by insulin pump which they have to constantly adjust.

Errors may cause hyperglycemia, which can cause many of health complications associated with diabetes (blindness, amputations, kidney or cardiac failure in the most severe cases). Sometimes patients, afraid of hyperglycemia, overdose on insulin only to trigger hypoglycemia, which can lead to coma and even death.

Diabetes tech, CGMs (Continuous Glucose Monitor) and insulin pumps, have made things easier for TD1 patients. However, they still need to monitor their blood sugar levels throughout the day.

During the night, type 1 patients rely on alarms built into their blood sugar monitors.

Sounds tough, right?

It is. This diabetes-induced anxiety motivated one patient to take necessary steps to get control over her own health and life.

Alabama-born Dana Lewis is one of 1.5 million T1D patients in the U.S.she was diagnosed at the age of 14.

Dana, as well as her friends and family, especially when she was living alone in Seattle, were afraid that the glucose alarm would not wake her up and that she would die of overnight hypoglycemia, or whats grimly known as dead in bed syndrome.

First, the University of Alabama graduate used an open-source code to transfer the data from her CGM to the cloud and back to her again with louder alarms. Then, she made data shareable with her mother and boyfriend, just in case she didnt wake up so they could call her.

Then, along with her husband Scott Leibrand, she took her system a step further and created a software so she no longer had to wake up several times to push the button on her pump.

Called APS (the Artificial Pancreas System), Danas system consists of, in addition to the algorithm, a CGM and insulin pump, to monitor blood sugar and automatically adjust the insulin pump around the clock, day or night.

Dana also made her creation free, via the Open APS organization, so that diabetes patients can DIY build their own system.

Recently, Fast Company put Dana Lewis on its 100 Most Creative People in Business list for 2017.

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Manage Type 1 Diabetes With Lifesaving Open Source Software - Edgy Labs (blog)

Developers Petition Adobe to Open Source Flash – MakeUseOf

Posted on July 27, 2017 by admin

It turns out that not everyone hates Flash. Honestly, we thought the feelings of revulsion were fairly universal. However, one web developer has made it his mission to save Flash for future generations. How? By petitioning Adobe to open source Flash once they kill it off in 2020.

In case you hadnt heard, Adobe is killing Flash Adobe Is Finally Killing Flash... in 2020 Adobe Is Finally Killing Flash... in 2020 Adobe has announced it's killing Flash. This is it, with Flash going away for good. No comebacks, no last-minute reprieves, gone but not forgotten. Read More . Finally, after years of tech companies begging Adobe Die Flash Die: The Ongoing History of Tech Companies Trying to Kill Flash Die Flash Die: The Ongoing History of Tech Companies Trying to Kill Flash Flash has been in decline for a long time, but when will it die? Read More to hammer the final nail in the rotting coffin. It wont be happening for a few more years, but Adobe has announced its intention to end-of-life Flash at some point in 2020.

Most people are pleased that Adobe is finally killing Flash. Most people, but not everyone

A Finnish web developer by the name of Juha Lindstedt has started a petition asking Adobe to open source Flash. He accepts that Flash is flawed Security Alert: You Need to Uninstall Flash Right Now Security Alert: You Need to Uninstall Flash Right Now Flash is so full of security holes and vulnerabilities, it just doesn't make sense to keep it installed anymore. Here's how to get rid of it. Read More as it exists at the moment. However, hes arguing the case for Adobe to essentially hand Flash over to the internet to see what they can do with it.

His main argument appears to be that Flash is an important piece of Internet history and killing Flash means future generations cant access the past. The early web was built using Flash, which means that once its gone, games, experiments and websites would be forgotten.

Lindstedt even lists some of the ways open sourcing the software would keep Flash projects alive safely for archive reasons. He argues, There might be a way to convert swf/fla to HTML5/canvas/webgl/webassembly, or some might write a standalone player for it. Another possibility would be to have a separate browser.

The idea of open sourcing Flash is currently being discussed in various places, including Hacker News and Newgrounds. Opinions are very much split down the middle, which was always going to be the case with a debate such as this one. In the end though, it will be Adobes decision.

If you want to sign the petition to support the idea of open sourcing Flash you simply need to Star the repository on GitHub. Lindstedt promises that he will deliver this petition to Adobe at some point in the future. But its anyones guess what Adobes reaction will be.

Were fans of open source software Open Source vs. Free Software: What's the Difference and Why Does It Matter? Open Source vs. Free Software: What's the Difference and Why Does It Matter? Many assume "open source" and "free software" mean the same thing but that's not true. It's in your best interest to know what the differences are. Read More here at MakeUseOf. However, open sourcing Flash would just be keeping it around, and those gaping security holes with it. Flash IS part of internet history, but thats where it belongs; in the past with all of the other software thats been abandoned over the years. Let Flash die with dignity Why Flash Needs to Die (And How You Can Get Rid of It) Why Flash Needs to Die (And How You Can Get Rid of It) The Internet's relationship with Flash has been rocky for a while. Once, it was a universal standard on the web. Now, it looks like it may be headed to the chopping block. What changed? Read More , and lets all move onto a bigger and better future.

What are your views on Flash? Do you welcome Adobes decision to kill it off in 2020? Or do you think it would be a good idea to open source Flash to preserve the past for future generations? Will you be signing the petition? The comments are open below

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Developers Petition Adobe to Open Source Flash - MakeUseOf