RSA

On Thursday morning, at this year's RSA conference in San Francisco, Chris Boyd of Facetime and I will present a talk "How to Adapt to the Echo Generation's Social Media Hacking Game." The following is a preview of that talk, presented in three parts. On Tuesday we learned who the Echo Generation are. Wednesday we saw how they use online social media for hacks. Today, we'll see how Chris uses features of social networks and Web 2.0 to shut these kids down.

Known as the Sherlock Holmes of France, famed criminologist Edmond Locard once … Read more

Security expert Bruce Schneier is rightly regarded as one of the industry's most intelligent and insightful participants. He has made substantial personal contributions to the science of cryptology, and has written some of the best books on the subject.

Like many smart people, Schneier is also highly opinionated. Although I have yet to hear a technical opinion from Schneier that I disagree with, some of his nontechnical opinions are--in my opinion--open to debate.

For example, Schneier coined the term "Security Theater" to describe measures that serve to make people feel safer without significantly improving security in any … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Politicians like to joke that Social Security reform is considered the "third rail" of politics. In Apple's world, that rail belongs to security.

It's been a while since we examined the "state of Mac security," and with this week's RSA Conference in San Francisco, and last month's CanSecWest conference fresh in everyone's mind, it seemed like a decent time.

The topic is always a heated one, and it tends to bring out the usual Mac vs. PC bashing. But according to people I talked to this week here at RSA, … Read more

On Thursday morning, at this year's RSA Conference in San Francisco, Chris Boyd of Facetime and I will present a talk called "How to Adapt to the Echo Generation's Social-Media Hacking Game." The following is a preview of that talk, presented in three parts. Yesterday, we saw who the Echo Generation are. Today, we're looking at how they use online social media for hacks. Tomorrow, we'll see how Chris uses features of social networks and Web 2.0 to shut these kids down.

For the last few years, Chris Boyd, director of malware research … Read more

"I will tell (you) how to break into a nuclear reactor," Ira Winkler, president of security firm ISAG said as he launched into his presentation on "How to Take Down the Power Grid" at RSA 2008 on Tuesday night.

"Frankly, it's really easy to break into the power grid," he said. "It happens all the time."

First, you set up a Web server that downloads spyware onto the computers that visit.

Second, you send an e-mail to people who work inside a power station that entices them to click on a … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--It turns out al-Qaida's leader and his cohorts aren't the biggest threat to our cybersecurity. You are.

Six years ago, Osama bin Laden represented the nightmare scenario for the computer security establishment. But more immediate cyberdangers lurk on the horizon. Experts attending the RSA conference that began here today say it's you--Mr. & Mrs. Computer User--who keep goofing up.

In fact, they contend, the future of cybersecurity hinges less on a latter-day version of spy-versus-spy against shadowy terror groups than on a more serious effort to instill best practices. Listening to their heeding was something akin … Read more

On Tuesday, the creators of the Diffie-Hellman key exchange, a cryptographic protocol, and two of the creators of EMC security division RSA gathered onstage for the annual cryptographers' panel at RSA 2008 in San Francisco.

First, panel members offered their perspectives on the state of security since last year, then they answered questions posed by a moderator. The panel included: Whitfield Diffie, chief security officer at Sun Microsystems; Martin Hellman, professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford University; Ronald Rivest, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT; and Adi Shamir, professor of computer science at the Weizmann Institute … Read more

Microsoft released its new Stirling security suite in public beta at RSA 2008 on Tuesday.

The Stirling security package, the next wave of its Forefront software, offers one management console, enabling administrators to push policies out across PCs, servers, and other computers that access the Internet.

Administrators can set the system up so that policies are automatically followed or so that they require administrator approval before further action is taken, such as blocking a computer from accessing the network if the system detects that it has been compromised, said Ryan Hamlin, general manager of Microsoft's Access and Security Division.… Read more

Risks from cyberattacks are increasing and the consequences are so great that the country needs a "Manhattan Project" for network security, Michael Chertoff, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in a keynote on Tuesday at RSA 2008.

"We need a game-changer with how we deal with attacks," he said. "In January, the president signed a homeland security directive, for a national cybersecurity initiative...almost like a Manhattan Project."

"Cyberthreats have enabled terrorists and criminals to do the kind of damage they would never be able to contemplate doing in … Read more