Ebola-hacking lessons for coronavirus fighters (Q&A)
Hacker Emerson Tan helped stop Ebola’s deadly spread in Sierra Leone. The response to Covid-19 threats have been lackluster, he says, but there’s still time to learn from the past.
Q&A
Freshly (un)retired, Gary McGraw takes on machine-learning security (Q&A)
In 2000, McGraw wrote the first book on software security, paving the way for an entire industry. With BIML, he’s shifted his attention to a new frontier: machine-learning algorithms.
Hacker Simple Nomad’s personal opsec tips (Q&A)
Mark Loveless, also known as Simple Nomad, looks back on decades of experience—including break-ins and mistakes—changed how he protects his tech.
Election hackers are ‘waiting for the bigger prize in 2020’ (Q&A)
At Chaos Communication Congress, election security expert J. Alex Halderman describes the United States’ rough yet vital road toward securing its many vulnerable voting systems.
CrowdStrike CEO on political infosec lessons learned (Q&A)
At the Web Summit, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz shares his sharp perspectives on political-hacking topics ranging from chatbot-seeking AI to security-inept campaign volunteers.
How USB sticks help drive freedom in North Korea (Q&A)
Two leaders of the Human Rights Foundation-backed initiative Flash Drives for Freedom detail why—and how—they flood North Korean markets with entertainment-loaded USB sticks.
New Zealand defends its border device search policy (Q&A)
Amid global struggles to balance travelers’ privacy with strong border protections, a New Zealand Customs Service representative explains recent updates to its device search policies.
To prevent EHR breaches, stop using them (Q&A)
Cluttered EHRs are reducing doctors’ ability to make good decisions for their patients while decreasing patient privacy, argues Twila Brase, author of Big Brother in the Exam Room.
Why current funding to secure U.S. elections ‘doesn’t cut it’ (Q&A)
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla discusses the importance of preventing (and addressing) system breaches alongside misinformation campaigns. There’s a lot to balance.
At S(h)ecurity, a focus on infosec industry imbalance (Q&A)
Homogenous viewpoints can lead security teams to jump to conclusions or miss key details. Diversity is important. Leading into her keynote at Day of S(h)ecurity, Vijaya Kaza says changes needs to start at the grade level.
Tom Ridge on how we should fight our ‘digital war’ (Q&A)
To address cyberrisks, former Pennsylvania governor and DHS secretary Tom Ridge says the relationship between the private and public sectors needs to move from punitive to collaborative.
Lessons learned from hacking an election (Q&A)
With little effort, John Bambenek recalls, he fooled Guccifer 2.0 into thinking that he’d use stolen documents against the Democrats. Instead, he fed them to the FBI.
This is not the future sci-fi writer Charlie Stross predicted (Q&A)
Chaos Communication Congress’ keynote speaker Charlie Stross sits down with The Parallax to discuss what drives dictatorships, space exploration, cryptography—and science fiction itself.
Trying to secure the 21st century ID card (Q&A)
Petr Svenda, who disclosed a key vulnerability in popular identification chips, says it’s hard for researchers to ensure that devices are secure when just seeing their specs requires an NDA.
Smart guns ‘one piece of a very complex problem’ (Q&A)
Margot Hirsch, president of the Smart Tech Challenges Association, says it’s a matter of time before Elon Musk-style “market disruption” prevents gun-related tragedies.
Bob Lord: What I preached as Yahoo’s CISO (Q&A)
On stage at Structure Security, The Parallax asks Yahoo’s former chief hacker what he learned from his time at Yahoo, why he left, and what other CISOs could glean from his experiences.
Kasparov talks calculated odds, AI, and cybersecurity (Q&A)
The longtime world chess champion and Putin foe, now a human rights activist, says we should be fostering a deepening human-computer partnership rather than trying to fight the inevitable.
Facebook’s Stamos on protecting elections from hostile hackers (Q&A)
The social-networking giant’s chief security officer sounds off on why and how political campaigns should work together to fight attacks on their critical infrastructure and information.
ACLU’s Gillmor on privacy: ‘We pay for what we value’ (Q&A)
ACLU technologist Daniel Kahn Gillmor’s gives his take on Internet privacy costs, responsibilities, and struggles. And he explains why he expects “to get a lot of shit” from colleagues.
How to strike a balance between security and privacy (Q&A)
Thomas Donnelly, a senior fellow at the National Constitution Center, discusses a series of scholarly papers he’s curating to help people unite behind policy reforms that promote both privacy and security.
Secret to safer IoT is smarter Wi-Fi, hacker Caezar says (Q&A)
Aiden Riley “Caezar” Eller, longtime CTO of Unium, explains how he’s working “to get the home network to be a meeting place for devices to all have an equal level of responsibility.”
Hacking our way through the new Cold War (Q&A)
James Wirtz, dean of international graduate studies at the Naval Postgraduate School, revisits his pre-election comments on Russia’s effective information cyberwarfare tactics.
Jennifer Granick on spying: ‘The more we collect, the less we know’ (Q&A)
Granick, the director of civil liberties at Stanford Law School and recent author of “American Spies,” sounds off on the nature, effectiveness, and justness of U.S. surveillance today.
Comic book illustrates ex-NSA analyst’s outlook on online security (Q&A)
Oren Falkowitz, author of Pineapple Sparkle, says technology needs to provide for online consumers what seat belts provide for car passengers. And consumers need to appreciate it.
What the acquisition means for the 400 million Avast and AVG users (Q&A)
Avast CEO Vince Steckler shares his vision for how the two security software makers will combine efforts while staying separate. Confusion between them, he notes, “doesn’t matter anymore.”
John McAfee created the antivirus world. Can he reinvent it too? (Q&A)
Empower the individual. Keep private information private. Make the complex simple. And detect an intruder in milliseconds. McAfee and hacker Eijah say these ideas are driving their new business.
John McAfee’s cybersecurity advice for Clinton and Trump (Q&A)
“No. 1: Fire or massively retrain every employee in the U.S. government responsible for implementing cybersecurity,” advises the software entrepreneur, a former presidential candidate.
What it takes to dupe a paranoid target (Q&A)
Penetration test expert Chris Nickerson, whose clients pay him to social-engineer his way into their doors and networks, discusses how even security-smart people get hacked.
Chertoff sees ‘Internet of threats’ (Q&A)
The former DHS secretary tells The Parallax that as people raise their consciousness about security, nations urgently need to form agreements about cyberwarfare limits.
Why Russia has a leg up in geopolitical hacking (Q&A)
Cold War historian James J. Wirtz, dean of international graduate studies at the Naval Postgraduate School, tells The Parallax that Russian officials are great at seeing the big picture.
Legality of scientific research at stake in CFAA lawsuit (Q&A)
Communication algorithm researcher Christian Sandvig, who joined the lawsuit against the longtime antihacking law, tells The Parallax that regardless of its outcome, something has to change.
Avast’s vision for AVG buy: Oomph, scale, and stability (Q&A)
Vince Steckler, CEO of Parallax sponsor Avast, discusses why his company is planning to buy its biggest competitor for $1.3 billion.
How one woman protects almost the whole Internet (Q&A)
Security expert Window Snyder’s new role has her defending website and Web content on a grand scale.
Taking stock of the cyberstruggle against ISIS (Q&A)
Counterterrorism expert John D. Cohen tells The Parallax that to tackle terrorists’ effective Internet recruitment efforts, we need to first understand the underlying issues.
A biometrics pioneer’s plea for safeguards, privacy education (Q&A)
Pressing for privacy awareness and abuse prevention, Joseph Atick—like Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb—says there is danger in the technology he helped create.
Unlocking a phone is ‘just a matter of time and resources’ (Q&A)
Itzhak “Zuk” Avraham, founder of Zimperium, has been confident that his Israeli colleagues at Cellebrite would successfully help the FBI unlock the iPhone 5C of Syed Farook. Here’s why.
How an FBI win against Apple could hurt my company
To any software engineer with an imagination, the resulting possibilities are horrifying. A favorable precedent would let the government turn us into unwilling surveillance assistants.
What happens if the FBI wins its iPhone fight?
In its case against Apple, the federal agency claims that it’s trying to unlock just one phone. Far more is at stake, domestically and internationally, experts and activists say.
How to make security more approachable? Jessysaurusrex roars (Q&A)
At ShmooCon in D.C., privacy advocate Jessy Irwin sits down with The Parallax to explain why security companies need to better know and communicate with their audiences.
What it’s like to play chess master Garry Kasparov
Even in assured defeat, competing in chess against the longstanding top player in the world is a privilege. It is also an experience in learning the value of adaptability.
Garry Kasparov takes on the Russian surveillance state (Q&A)
Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov takes a break from opposing Vladimir Putin’s policies to talk with The Parallax about human rights, government spying, and privacy tools.
Forget encryption backdoors. The feds really need this (Q&A)
Why are U.S. government representatives demanding legal access to coded phone calls and text messages? Federal cybersecurity contractor Jan Filsinger says they lack cyber savvy.
Law enforcement’s encryption scare tactics aren’t swaying techies
With customers worldwide who would be negatively impacted by weakened encryption, Silicon Valley has an obvious interest in uniting together against a very dumb idea.
New Tor director Shari Steele gears up for challenging future (Q&A)
Shari Steele has been on the job as the executive director of the anonymizing network Tor for three weeks. She has some big goals for the small organization—including locking down funding.
‘State of Control’ explores harrowing consequences of surveillance
The documentary, of two filmmakers who traveled to Tibet before the 2008 Olympics, shows how China uses technology to control information and people far beyond its borders.
Why cybersecurity’s future may be in the hands of the devil’s advocate (Q&A)
A new book by Council on Foreign Relations member Micah Zenko explains why organizations still struggle with security vulnerabilities—and how “red teaming” promises a fresh start.
ACLU, TPI, Consumer Watchdog at odds in privacy policy debate
What’s a bigger threat: government surveillance or data collection? The Parallax asks representatives of three prominent groups to explain (or refute) some of consumers’ biggest privacy concerns.
Regarding CISA, D.C.’s from Mars, Silicon Valley’s still from California
The political establishment and the tech industry aren’t clashing for the first or last time over the government’s proper role in safeguarding privacy and cybersecurity.
U.S.-China cyberdeal: Another useless photo op
Although September’s agreement may prohibit China from cyberespionage for commercial gain, it’s still open season for everything else.
A privacy-free future: Rucka’s latest world-gone-wrong
From Star Wars to Antarctica, the comic book author and novelist envisions worlds where war, corporate malfeasance, and climate change have run amok. What does his totalitarian Lazarus bode for privacy? The Parallax asks Rucka.
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