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Security & Privacy

The most popular blog posts about security & privacy on Hacker News. 4,337 posts.

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3723

0x01 – Killing Windows Kernel Mitigations

This post was made possible through hard work and determination. Do not feel frustrated if this stuff does not click immediately and remember, the source of truth will always be the source code. For us, our source code is raw assembly. That said it’s important you understand these techniques in detail because when…

3728

Time-lock encryption

How do you encrypt a file such that it can be decrypted after a date, but not before? Use serial computations for proof-of-work using successive squaring, chained hashes, or witness encryption on blockchains.

3730

What's the risk from fake Yubikeys?

I found this on a security-related Slack (shared with permission). It launched an entertaining discussion about the risks of taking a potentially fake FIDO token. We all know the risks of taking a free USB drive and shoving it in our computer, right? USB sticks can install software, act as a keylogger, transmit data…

3732

Who Does Skype Let Spy?

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about power and the Internet, and what I call the feudal model of IT security that is becoming more and more pervasive. Basically, between cloud services and locked-down end-user devices, we have less control and visibility over our security—and have no point but to trust those in power…

3733

Tarsnap exploit bounty

Most bugs are straightforward, but occasionally one comes up which is not so clear in its impact. Such is the case with a bug which is fixed in tarsnap 1.0.36 . This bug causes the NUL string termination byte to overflow the heap-allocated buffer used for paths of objects examined as tarsnap traverses a directory…

3747

Security Risks of TSA PreCheck

Former TSA Administrator Kip Hawley wrote an op-ed pointing out the security vulnerabilities in the TSA’s PreCheck program: The first vulnerability in the system is its enrollment process, which seeks to verify an applicant’s identity. We know verification is a challenge: A 2011 Government Accountability Office report…