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  1. Re:Kind of Esoteric, But... on Smart-Card Hacking? · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Oh yeah? OH YEAH? Well, if you're going to provide actually _useful_ information, I might as well. Sigh. :-)

    One common implementation of the key store Cthefuture mentioned uses the concept of a fixed-size "private" store on the card to protect your private keys via some sort of applet (as on a Javacard) or similar application. A "smart card" is basically a tiny computer with an external power source--it provides a processor and storage on board.

    Your public keys will reside in a "public" store, typically 3x or more the size of the private store. The rest of the card can, in some instances and depending on the middleware present on the host computer, be used for application storage and execution, not just storage of personal data.

    What you might also look into, if you're interested in hardware crypto, is the concept of hardware key storage units, such as the Chrysalis-ITS Luna, often used to protect master keys of smart card distributions, or CA signing keys.

    Lastly, if you're getting yourself into a smart card-related deployment, you really should be aware that the technology, while occasionally fiddly, isn't going to be your core problem--especially if you're doing authentication, it's going to be the management of the cards and credentials (think: "what to do when called up with 'mommy I forgot my card at home'".)

  2. Kind of Esoteric, But... on Smart-Card Hacking? · · Score: 4, Informative

    The best way to learn is to latch onto someone who really knows their stuff (which is what I did on a previous project.) If you don't have that luxury, start looking at vendor pages (Schlumberger, ActivCard, Siemens, Utimaco, Gemplus, etc.) and chipset manufacturers (Infineon, Sagem or Giesecke & Devrient for example.)

    Depending on how far down you want to dig (do you want to learn about applications? Circuit design? Interfaces? Security issues?) you should probably browse around related manufacturers' pages and related newsgroups. A good example would be looking at PKCS#11-related docs, Entrust implementation docs, the Javacard specifications, how Javacards differ from other implementations, docs on "Open Platform", types of card readers (class 1 through class 4, what is "middleware", how hardware key storage works, etc.)

    A lot of card-related documentation and information is strongly vendor-specific, poorly documented and, to be honest, largely irrelevant for someone who wants to learn about it in a not-too-hardcore manner.

    If you're professionally seriously interested, I recommend talking to one of the serious pros, such as Jerome Ajdenbaum who really know their stuff. For starters, though, a quick google search on "smart card" +documentation turned up a number of good results, including from Microsoft (whose card interface for many manufacturers and variants is surprisingly well-written), ,a href="http://java.sun.com/products/javacard/refere nce/docs/">Java card docs from Sun, and the Open Card platform.

  3. I actually liked AoD... on Tomb Raider - A Tarnished Legend · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Tomb Raider's one of the few games I could get my girlfriend interested in. She didn't like playing it, but rather would sit and watch and help me figure things out--I am pretty good at the fiddly action bits, while she's more of a thinker type. Your stereotypical guy-girl breakdown, I guess.

    I didn't think Angel of Darkness was so bad, aside from the random dude popping up and the weak ending. However, seeing the teasers for Legend, I'm really looking forward to a new instalment coming out, maybe one with a bit of a new take on the same old same old.

  4. Re:what a great idea ! on DOJ Wants ISPs to Retain All Customer Records · · Score: 1

    You might enjoy http://www.anglegrinderman.org/ -- I have always thought that paintball guns and bolt cutters would be cool against your plethora of CCTV cameras :)

  5. TYPE DVOARK NOW! on Advocating Dvorak · · Score: 1

    I am much more pain-free on Dvoark

    Not to engage in something as base as spelling flames, but it would help if the Dvorak advocates were to spell it correctly, including in the title of http://dvzine.org/type/index.html.

    :-)

  6. Re:Something to consider... on Protecting Your Personal Info While Traveling? · · Score: 1

    Short answer? "It depends."

    Some states in the US have far more employer-friendly laws regarding employee privacy and data protection. Regardless of what you sign, having a global company policy on traffic surveillance does not mean this is automatically legal, and that an employee surrenders all rights. I've checked said documents often; I'm paid to consult companies on information security and compliance-related issues, and as such also draw their legal departments' attention to such language when it is beyond the scope of the acceptable.

    Usually, this is a compliance issue that should come down on the heads of management, not on you (the admin.) There are, in my experience, many companies who choose to disregard the finer points of employment law in favor of blanket data acquisition, acquiescing instead to paying the fines involved when caught red-handed--in their logic, the costs involved in not sniffing out those nefarious porn-surfers exceed the slaps on the hand meted out by state employment commissions.

    That said, doing something about it, especially in "at-will" employment states, where you can be shit-canned for whatever reason as long as it does not directly and provably violate the law, is pretty difficult.

  7. Re:Something to consider... on Protecting Your Personal Info While Traveling? · · Score: 5, Insightful

    (My purpose of installing this was to catch someone was using our network traffic downloading porn and illegal filesharing

    What you did is strongly illegal in many countries, including parts of the US (look up state & federal wiretapping laws) especially if done without informing users. Aside from that, it pushes the ethical boundaries of what's acceptable (I think it's filthy, personally, but I'm giving the benefit of the doubt and being diplomatic.)

    Not all people were as nice as I was and let the small info go

    If you can't tell what's wrong with this statement, you shouldn't be administering systems used by other people. You're perfectly correct about being wary of using boxes beyond your exclusive control; however, we're talking about crime and not exercising control over your own computers.

  8. Re:Spirit of exploration wins out over safety a lo on Space Shuttles almost Ready to Re-Launch · · Score: 1

    In space, you're exposed to extreme temperature variations (and thus thermal expansion/contraction, brittleness, freezing fuel/hydraulic lines, etc), high radiation levels, parts and liquids shifting in zero-G, etc.

    Cool! Sounds like a spa I went to with my girlfriend once...there's your solution for NASA's budget woes--there have _got_ to be people willing to pay money for that sort of treatment.

  9. Re:Nipple rings on females can be a problem... on Body Modifications Still Hinder IT Professionals? · · Score: 2, Funny

    I read you, brother. And I wish I'd worked there :)

    I had a project where my colleague and I (both mid-30s, "normal", decently dressed, ok-looking guys with a strong lecherous streak) shared an office. Our female QA colleague (who had a fantastic body, an outstanding chest, and no sense of humor at all--no really, we were usually perfect gentlemen and really tried to be nice and helpful) liked to come visit unannounced to ask questions.

    We kept the air conditioning in the office cranked wayyyy down, to see what arose. Made it very difficult to get any work done.

  10. Re:Tracking? on Russian Firm Pays to Infect PCs with Adware · · Score: 1

    No. Killing people is bad. It's naughty. You should have learned in school, as I did, that it ranks up there with lying, cheating, bullying and unscrewing sugar shakers so they pour all over peoples' food when tipped.

    But boy, it's a good thing spammers, spyware authors and virus kiddies aren't people, isn't it?

  11. Re:Tracking? on Russian Firm Pays to Infect PCs with Adware · · Score: 1

    The web never forgets

    Tee hee, the Mossberg 590/A1 12-gauge, Remington M1911, S&W .40, SIG-Sauer P-226, Glock .45, KAR-31 and LG-08 in my closet also never forget. :-)

  12. Re:Honeypot browser on Russian Firm Pays to Infect PCs with Adware · · Score: 1

    "we" have it. It's called VMWare.

  13. Re:Where to now ? on Russian Firm Pays to Infect PCs with Adware · · Score: 1

    You might be interested in the latest DailyDave mailing list traffic--there was a pretty long discussion about exactly this--essentially an exploit auctioning and licensing model.

  14. Re:WTF? Backups and DR equate to 'security?' on Computer Security Lacking at Homeland Security · · Score: 2, Informative

    Backups are part of an overall security strategy, comprising, to use a well-worn phrase, confidentiality, integrity and availability. In a broad sense, you can apply this to DHS' "mission" (such as it is) as well. And yes, a DR plan, especially for an organization which is supposedly so "critical" to the nation's safety, is part of the whole shebang.

    What's this have to do with HIPAA?

  15. Re:Anyone get the feeling... on Patriot Act to be Expanded · · Score: 1

    conservatists != nationalists.

    You're absolutely right, but what sort of conservative? Social? Governmental? Fiscal? Neocon? Economic liberal? They're all sort of dumped in a pot together.

    A lot of the crap that's lumped into the topic of "national security" (see: USA PATRIOT) is ineffective, poorly thought out and intrusive in nature; what's important, though, is that the motivation for these could pretty strongly be lumped together under "nationalism" (I wasn't going to say "fascism", because I'm sure _someone_ working on these means well.)

  16. Re:Anyone get the feeling... on Patriot Act to be Expanded · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Good point. I've had this conversation with many "fellow Americans" (I live abroad and have no desire to go back due to things like this.)

    It always astounds me how many people simply don't care about what many of us consider to be essential civil liberties, or are totally sold on the idea that such draconian laws are necessary to fight terrorism, drugs, child molestation, whatever. It's like arguing with a wall.

    There are extremists on both sides of the American political spectrum; the problem is that the "conservatives" (what a stupid term--I think we should start calling them "nationalists") have this crisis of conscience where the social fanatics support the same sort of governmental power that the "my country, right or wrong" types do. And yet they all vote together. On the other side, most moderates or "liberals" have this problem that the wackjob leftist faction is making them look bad.

    Bit of a ramble, I apologize, but the upshot is that you have a fairly large minority are very upset about the seeming inability of many voters to grasp the underlying issues, and to understand that the reasoning given for this kind of stuff (to protect the homeland!) is horseshit, smoke & mirrors and is dooming much that the US stands for.

  17. One-word answer on China Forces Websites To Register · · Score: 1

    "ssh". Two-word answer? "SSH, httptunnel.pl".

  18. Re:This is because they Just Work on Laptops Outsell Desktops · · Score: 1

    Hah! Ha hah! I'll wait for you to confirm that opinion once you've tried to install a useful OS on certain laptops. Weird ACPI implemtations, non-standards-compliant PCI slots, bizarre miniPCI wifi cards, the list goes on and on and on...

  19. Re:Why, oh why ? on New Way To Crack Secure Bluetooth Devices · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Nope, most security professionals want to fix bugs. There will always be enough holes in software to make our lives difficult.

    Bluetooth in and of itself is a fairly decent protocol for what it was originally designed for (ca. 15m range personal networking). It encounters a lot of limitations in the capabilities of how it is implemented (i.e. static shared PINs, etc.)

    And you're mistaken about crazy hackers; I know of quite a few pretty top-end cryptographers still doing good research while employed as pet security bwanas by large banks, IT corporations, etc. Although, I don't know whether you could refer to "job security" when talking about an outfit like IBM research :(

  20. Re:duh on Europe Home to Majority of Zombies · · Score: 1

    They get a nasty look and a week of having to sit at the children's table. I bought an X10 once...

  21. Re:duh on Europe Home to Majority of Zombies · · Score: 1

    Ditto here. The whole 'fixed IP' thing over here (.ch) is, in my opinion, a racket growing out of a sad situation (lack of enough IPs to go around.) To get a static, a lot of ISPs will charge you an arm and a leg each month for a "business" connection. Blow me.

    Frankly, I don't like the idea of having my mail sitting on an ISP's box, pgp or not. I realize that anyone with half a brain and an ounce of adaptability can still intercept, but it makes it just that smidgeon more difficult. Cutting off TCP/25 is not the answer.

    I've found that a combination of Postfix graylisting, orbl, rate limiting (including a 1/minute limit for _anything_ coming from APNIC) and finally, Spamassassin, does a pretty good job. I don't delude myself; my email address is john@three-letter-domain.net--probably one of the first addresses a basic spambot will try, so keeping it off the Internet is illusory.

    That said, I have made a solemn promise, which I intend to uphold, that the first time I ever meet anyone who admits to my face that he is a spammer, works for spammers, or hires spammers, I will ask him to step outside and give him the thrashing of his life. Maybe, just maybe, this will be my little tiny insignificant contribution to proactively dealing with the problem.

    "Oh, you hammered dnsrbl? Why, here's a real hammer for you!" *whackwhackwhack*

  22. Re:I'll tell you one thing: on How Valuable is a Minor in Computer Science? · · Score: 1

    Heh,

    my girlfriend has an MS (MA? Not sure how it's classified in Swiss universities) in psych (along with a few sub-degree type things in French and business) and she got an offer from one of the big 5 (at the time) consulting outfits pretty handily. There is, in a lot of companies, pretty hefty demand for that sort of academic background. She makes more than most prestigious-school-CS-graduates I know (I graduated from Berkeley, so that's quite a few.)

    Come to think of it, I've a degree in a piddly-squat international relations type field--(a) it was interesting, (b) I dropped out of CS because it was too much of a fucking nightmare, and (c) it was easy--and I make more than most prestitious-school-CS-graduates I know. Doing IT consulting, natch. I enjoy my company, my work, my clients, and my lifestyle.

    So keep hanging on to the generalizations, kiddo. They're pretty amusing for the rest of us.

  23. Re:buh... on Too Much Homework Can Be Counterproductive · · Score: 1

    ...and I'm geting soemthing like... (sic)
    :-)

  24. Re:Yeah for foreign spam! on Coming Soon, The Google Translator · · Score: 1

    This is the best one I have ever received. For you German speakers out there. And note the footer and b1ffsteriffi/
    Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 06:44:20 -0700 (PDT)
    From: harris peters
    To: sassisch@yahoo.com
    Subject: Grüße

    HALLO LIEB, WEISS ich, DASS DIESER BUCHSTABE ZU IHNEN, DA eine ÜBERRASCHUNG,
    aber, sich nicht SORGEN, alle KOMMEN MAG IST GUT. Ich BIN Herr HARRIS
    PETERS, GESCHÄFTSSTELLENLEITER FINANZIELLEN VERTRAUENSCBankPlc, der IM
    MAURITIUS GELEGEN Ist. VOR EINIGEN JAHREN, KAM Ein MANN, der Herrn SHAW
    SMITH GENANNT wurde, den, Who AUS IHREM LAND, GENAU VON IHREM TEIL IST, ZU
    MEINEM LAND (MAURITIUS) IM GUMMI SECTOR.UNFORTUNATELY ZU INVESTIEREN, ER
    STARB IN EINEM SELBSTCAbbruch. Herr SHAW SMITH GESTORBEN, DIE SUMME DER
    DOLLAR 15MILLION US IN MEINER BANK LASSEND. Ich ERBITTE HIERMIT IHRE
    UNTERSTÜTZUNG ZU HELFEN, das GELD ZU BEHAUPTEN. Ich WERDE SIE BENÖTIGEN,
    ALS Der VETTER SPÄTEN SHAW SMITH ZU DIENEN, WEIL IM AUGENBLICK, ER KEIN
    FOLGENDES Der STÄMME HAT, DAMIT Das GELD AUF GEBRACHT WERDEN Kann. WENN SIE
    RECIEVE DAS GELD, SIE 40% NEHMEN, DAS ÜBER DOLLAR 6MILLION WIE IHR ANTEIL
    IST UND SIE GEBEN MIR DAS ANDERE 60%. Die REGIERUNG PLANT, Das GELD ZU
    ÜBERNEHMEN, WENN KEINS OBEN DARSTELLT, DA SEIN FOLGENDES VON KIN.I
    ÜBERPRÜFT, Daß ALLES UNTER STEUERUNG IST, DA Ich Die NIEDERLASSUNG
    MANAGER.SO BIN, das SIE NICHTS HABEN, Sich ABOUT.ALL ZU SORGEN, SIE TUN
    MÜSSEN SOLLEN MIR ANTWORTEN, WENN SIE INTERESSIERT SIND, ALSO WIR Die
    NESSECARY-, DOKUMENTE FÜR Die ÜBERTRAGUNG ZU VERARBEITEN BEGINNEN KÖNNEN.
    GESCHÄFTSSTELLENLEITER DES DANKES HARRIS PETERS F.T.B
    harris_peters@yahoo.com
    __________________ ________
    Cashette stops spam. 100% effective and free! Go to http://www.cashette-inc.com/

  25. Re:oh no! on Coming Soon, The Google Translator · · Score: 4, Funny

    While an improved Babelfish may improve our mutual comprehension, please pause for a moment to consider all the linguistic hilarity we'll forever lose.

    Yeah, like me going to work for Bull in 1997, and searching for "comment dit-on, le, fuck, le chose sur lequel on tappe, thingy qui connecte a l'ordinateur, ah yeah, le clavier". French Bull dude: "ah, le keyboard."

    Hilarity indeed.