SolarWinds and Market Incentives

In early 2021, IEEE Security and Privacy asked a number of board members for brief perspectives on the SolarWinds incident while it was still breaking news. This was my response. The penetration of government and corporate networks worldwide is the result of inadequate cyberdefenses across the...

Logic flaws and vulnerabilities in the government procurement transaction system of Hangzhou Pinming Information Technology Co.

Hangzhou Pinming Information Technology Co., Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise dedicated to building a domestic leading public resource transaction informationization field. A logic flaw vulnerability exists in the government procurement transaction system of Hangzhou Pinming Information Technology...

Hidden Cameras in Streetlights

Both the US Drug Enforcement Administration DEA and Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE are hiding surveillance cameras in streetlights. According to government procurement data, the DEA has paid a Houston, Texas company called Cowboy Streetlight Concealments LLC roughly $22,000 since June 20...

Former NSA Director Addresses Crypto Standard Subversion

During the last 11 months of mounting leaks and revelations about the government’s surveillance operations and the lengths it will go to gain intelligence on foreign threats, perhaps the most disturbing revelation was the intentional subversion of widely used cryptographic standards. It’s also be...