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Category Archives: E-Mail

Vendors approve of NIST password draft security recommendations – emojis welcome

Via CSO – “Standards group recommends removing periodic password change requirements – A recently released draft of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST’s) digital identity guidelines has met with approval by vendors. The draft guidelines revise password security recommendations and altering many of the standards and best practices security professionals use when forming policies… Continue Reading

Secure computing for journalists

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

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

States With the Most (and Least) Identity Theft

“The risk of identity theft in the United States continues to rise. The incidence of such crimes rose consistently over the  last decade, from 246,214 in 2006 to 399,225 last year. The rate of identity theft varies considerably between states. Using the Federal Trade Commission’s 2017 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the… 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

New Watchdog Demands DOJ Investigation of Records Law Violations

Investigators Will Use Public Records and Legal Challenges to Uncover Misconduct Across Executive Branch Agencies “… American Oversight is led by experienced litigator Austin Evers who will serve as Executive Director and ethics expert Melanie Sloan who will serve as Senior Advisor. Evers and Sloan will be supported by an in-house litigation team and outside… Continue Reading

Perspective on WikiLeaks CIA Cache

The New York Times – The Truth About the WikiLeaks C.I.A. Cache – “On Tuesday morning [March 7, 2017] WikiLeaks released an enormous cache of documents that it claimed detailed “C.I.A. hacking tools.” Immediately afterward, it posted two startling tweets asserting that “C.I.A. hacker malware” posed a threat to journalists and others who require secure… Continue Reading

Chaffetz, Cummings Urge Compliance with Federal Recordkeeping Laws

Letter to White House and agencies requests information on procedures for proper preservation – “House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) sent a letter to the White House and 55 federal agencies requesting information on how each entity is complying with the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and… Continue Reading