Matthew Green: “…Classical (desktop and laptop) operating systems were designed primarily to support application developers. This means they offer a lot of power to your applications. An application like Microsoft Word can typically read and write all the files available to your account. If Word becomes compromised, this is usually enough to pwn you in practice. And in many cases,… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: E-Records
Killer Apps: Vanishing Messages, Encrypted Communications, and Challenges to Freedom of Information Laws When Public Officials “Go Dark”
Stewart, Daxton, Killer Apps: Vanishing Messages, Encrypted Communications, and Challenges to Freedom of Information Laws When Public Officials “Go Dark” (April 13, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract= “In the early weeks of the new presidential administration, White House staffers were communicating among themselves and leaking to journalists using apps such as Signal and Confide, which… Continue Reading
MasterPrint: Exploring the Vulnerability of Partial Fingerprint-based Authentication Systems
“This paper investigates the security of partial fingerprint-based authentication systems, especially when multiple fingerprints of a user are enrolled. A number of consumer electronic devices, such as smartphones, are beginning to incorporate fingerprint sensors for user authentication. The sensors embedded in these devices are generally small and the resulting images are, therefore, limited in size.… Continue Reading
What is the fate of deleted Presidential tweets?
FCW.com – “The White House plans to save deleted tweets, according to a communication from the head of the National Archives, but the president is the ultimate arbiter of what is and isn’t a presidential record [emphasis added]. David S. Ferriero, the national archivist, set out the current status of records management training and policy… Continue Reading
Paper – Encryption Workarounds
Kerr, Orin S. and Schneier, Bruce, Encryption Workarounds (March 20, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2938033 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2938033 “The widespread use of encryption has triggered a new step in many criminal investigations: the encryption workaround. We define an encryption workaround as any lawful government effort to reveal an unencrypted version of a target’s data that has been concealed by… Continue Reading
Implementation of IT Reform Law and Related Initiatives Can Help Improve Acquisitions
Information Technology: Implementation of IT Reform Law and Related Initiatives Can Help Improve Acquisitions, GAO-17-494T: Published: Mar 28, 2017. Publicly Released: Mar 28, 2017. “The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) was enacted in December 2014 to improve federal information technology (IT) acquisitions and can help federal agencies reduce duplication and achieve cost savings.… Continue Reading
Using data and design to compare corruption and transparency across 50 U.S. states
Storybench article: “With Senate confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks happening this week, questions of conflicts of interest and financial disclosure are top of mind. Northeastern University journalism professors John Wihbey and Mike Beaudet, along with Information Design and Visualization professor Pedro Cruz and graduate student Irene de la Torre Arenas, recently published an… Continue Reading
Organization & Structure of Open Source Software Development Initiatives
Berkman Klein Center – Development Initiatives – Challenges & Opportunities Concerning Corporate Formation, Nonprofit Status, & Governance for Open Source Projects. March 22, 2017 “Freely available and open to anyone to contribute to or use, open source software is regularly at the heart of exciting and impactful innovation. Much of this innovation is a result… Continue Reading
Innovations in Federal Statistics: Combining Data Sources While Protecting Privacy
“Federal government statistics provide critical information to the country and serve a key role in a democracy. For decades, sample surveys with instruments carefully designed for particular data needs have been one of the primary methods for collecting data for federal statistics. However, the costs of conducting such surveys have been increasing while response rates… Continue Reading
Memo in CREST shows Agency considered employing semantics to get around ban on destroying damaging material
Muckrock report and documents: “Declassified records recently unearthed in CREST show the CIA waffled on a promise to obey the law in destroying records of Agency’s illegal activities and wrongdoing In 1976, Congresswoman Bella Abzug wrote to CIA Director George H.W. Bush about the existing moratorium on the destruction of CIA files. As the Chairwoman… Continue Reading
ABA TechShow 2017 – 60 tips in 60 minutes
ABA TECHSHOW 2017: 60 tips in 60 minutes – Adam Camras, LegalTalkNetwork; Ivan Hemmans, O’Melveny & Myers LLP; Jack Newton, Clio; Deborah Savadra, Legal Office Guru; Rochelle Washington, DC Bar. Continue Reading
Three out of Five Federal Agencies Flout New FOIA Law
National Security Archive: “Three out of five of all federal agencies are flouting the new law that improved the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and required them to update their FOIA regulations, according to the new National Security Archive FOIA Audit released today to celebrate Sunshine Week. The National Security Archive Audit found that only… Continue Reading
