All posts by Bruce Schneier

Schneier.com is Moving

Post Syndicated from Bruce Schneier original https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/09/schneiercom_is_.html

I’m switching my website software from Movable Type to WordPress, and moving to a new host.

The migration is expected to last from approximately 3 AM EST Monday until 4 PM EST Tuesday. The site will still be visible during that time, but comments will be disabled. (This is to prevent any new comments from disappearing in the move.)

This is not a site redesign, so you shouldn’t notice many differences. Even the commenting system is pretty much the same, though you’ll be able to use Markdown instead of HTML if you want to.

The conversion to WordPress was done by Automattic, who did an amazing job of getting all of the site’s customizations and complexities — this website is 17 years old — to work on a new platform. Automattic is also providing the new hosting on their Pressable service. I’m not sure I could have done it without them.

Hopefully everything will work smoothly.

EDITED TO ADD (9/7): RSS will be unaffected. Same URL as before.

Schneier.com is Moving

Post Syndicated from Bruce Schneier original https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/09/schneiercom_is_.html

I’m switching my website software from Movable Type to WordPress, and moving to a new host.

The migration is expected to last from approximately 3 AM EST Monday until 4 PM EST Tuesday. The site will still be visible during that time, but comments will be disabled. (This is to prevent any new comments from disappearing in the move.)

This is not a site redesign, so you shouldn’t notice many differences. Even the commenting system is pretty much the same, though you’ll be able to use Markdown instead of HTML if you want to.

The conversion to WordPress was done by Automattic, who did an amazing job of getting all of the site’s customizations and complexities — this website is 17 years old — to work on a new platform. Automattic is also providing the new hosting on their Pressable service. I’m not sure I could have done it without them.

Hopefully everything will work smoothly.

North Korea ATM Hack

Post Syndicated from Bruce Schneier original https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/09/north_korea_atm.html

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published a long and technical alert describing a North Korea hacking scheme against ATMs in a bunch of countries worldwide:

This joint advisory is the result of analytic efforts among the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM). Working with U.S. government partners, CISA, Treasury, FBI, and USCYBERCOM identified malware and indicators of compromise (IOCs) used by the North Korean government in an automated teller machine (ATM) cash-out scheme­ — referred to by the U.S. Government as “FASTCash 2.0: North Korea’s BeagleBoyz Robbing Banks.”

The level of detail is impressive, as seems to be common in CISA’s alerts and analysis reports.

North Korea ATM Hack

Post Syndicated from Bruce Schneier original https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/09/north_korea_atm.html

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published a long and technical alert describing a North Korea hacking scheme against ATMs in a bunch of countries worldwide:

This joint advisory is the result of analytic efforts among the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM). Working with U.S. government partners, CISA, Treasury, FBI, and USCYBERCOM identified malware and indicators of compromise (IOCs) used by the North Korean government in an automated teller machine (ATM) cash-out scheme­ — referred to by the U.S. Government as “FASTCash 2.0: North Korea’s BeagleBoyz Robbing Banks.”

The level of detail is impressive, as seems to be common in CISA’s alerts and analysis reports.

US Postal Service Files Blockchain Voting Patent

Post Syndicated from Bruce Schneier original https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/08/us_postal_servi.html

The US Postal Service has filed a patent on a blockchain voting method:

Abstract: A voting system can use the security of blockchain and the mail to provide a reliable voting system. A registered voter receives a computer readable code in the mail and confirms identity and confirms correct ballot information in an election. The system separates voter identification and votes to ensure vote anonymity, and stores votes on a distributed ledger in a blockchain

I wasn’t going to bother blogging this, but I’ve received enough emails about it that I should comment.

As is pretty much always the case, blockchain adds nothing. The security of this system has nothing to do with blockchain, and would be better off without it. For voting in particular, blockchain adds to the insecurity. Matt Blaze is most succinct on that point:

Why is blockchain voting a dumb idea?

Glad you asked.

For starters:

  • It doesn’t solve any problems civil elections actually have.
  • It’s basically incompatible with “software independence”, considered an essential property.
  • It can make ballot secrecy difficult or impossible.

Both Ben Adida and Matthew Green have written longer pieces on blockchain and voting.

News articles.

US Postal Service Files Blockchain Voting Patent

Post Syndicated from Bruce Schneier original https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/08/us_postal_servi.html

The US Postal Service has filed a patent on a blockchain voting method:

Abstract: A voting system can use the security of blockchain and the mail to provide a reliable voting system. A registered voter receives a computer readable code in the mail and confirms identity and confirms correct ballot information in an election. The system separates voter identification and votes to ensure vote anonymity, and stores votes on a distributed ledger in a blockchain

I wasn’t going to bother blogging this, but I’ve received enough emails about it that I should comment.

As is pretty much always the case, blockchain adds nothing. The security of this system has nothing to do with blockchain, and would be better off without it. For voting in particular, blockchain adds to the insecurity. Matt Blaze is most succinct on that point:

Why is blockchain voting a dumb idea?

Glad you asked.

For starters:

  • It doesn’t solve any problems civil elections actually have.
  • It’s basically incompatible with “software independence”, considered an essential property.
  • It can make ballot secrecy difficult or impossible.

Both Ben Adida and Matthew Green have written longer pieces on blockchain and voting.

News articles.

Cory Doctorow on The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

Post Syndicated from Bruce Schneier original https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/08/cory_doctorow_o_2.html

Cory Doctorow has writtten an extended rebuttal of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff. He summarized the argument on Twitter.

Shorter summary: it’s not the surveillance part, it’s the fact that these companies are monopolies.

I think it’s both. Surveillance capitalism has some unique properties that make it particularly unethical and incompatible with a free society, and Zuboff makes them clear in her book. But the current acceptance of monopolies in our society is also extremely damaging — which Doctorow makes clear.

Amazon Supplier Fraud

Post Syndicated from Bruce Schneier original https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/08/amazon_supplier.html

Interesting story of an Amazon supplier fraud:

According to the indictment, the brothers swapped ASINs for items Amazon ordered to send large quantities of different goods instead. In one instance, Amazon ordered 12 canisters of disinfectant spray costing $94.03. The defendants allegedly shipped 7,000 toothbrushes costing $94.03 each, using the code for the disinfectant spray, and later billed Amazon for over $650,000.

In another instance, Amazon ordered a single bottle of designer perfume for $289.78. In response, according to the indictment, the defendants sent 927 plastic beard trimmers costing $289.79 each, using the ASIN for the perfume. Prosecutors say the brothers frequently shipped and charged Amazon for more than 10,000 units of an item when it had requested fewer than 100. Once Amazon detected the fraud and shut down their accounts, the brothers allegedly tried to open new ones using fake names, different email addresses, and VPNs to obscure their identity.

It all worked because Amazon is so huge that everything is automated.