Google Steps Up Security on G Suite and Cloud Platform
Google has rolled out several new security features for its G Suite and Google Cloud Platform, including a DLP system that finds and redacts sensitive data, and a service that allows organizations to manage the lifecycle of encryption keys. Users of Google’s hosted apps are reliant on the company for the security and privacy controls, […]
Senator Asks DNI Nominee Coats for Answers on Section 702 Use
A Senate leader is asking Daniel Coats, the nominee for the vacant director of national intelligence position, to specify the number of Americans whose communications have been collected as part of the Section 702 surveillance program used by the NSA. In a letter sent this week to Coats, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) repeated a request […]
Researchers Find Multiple Bugs in Confide Messaging App
Researchers at IOActive have uncovered a number of serious security flaws in the Confide secure messaging app, some of which could allow an attacker to hijack a user’s session or impersonate a target user. Confide is one of the group of encrypted chat apps that have emerged in the last few years and promises end-to-end […]
Google Pushes Encrypted Email System Out Into the World
People have been trying to find a replacement for PGP almost since the day it was released, and with limited success. Encrypted email is still difficult to use and painful to implement in most cases, but Google has just released a Chrome plugin designed to address those problems. The new E2EMail extension doesn’t turn a user’s […]
SHA-1 Collision Spells the End for Old Algorithm
Engineers at Google have created the first SHA-1 collision, an achievement that should lay to rest any remaining doubts about the practical security of the hash function. Cryptographers and security researchers have been warning about weaknesses in SHA-1 for several years, saying that modern computing power would soon put a collision within reach. A hash […]
Wyden to Introduce Bill to Prohibit Warrantless Phone Searches at Border
A senator from Oregon who has a long track record of involvement on security and privacy issues says he plans to introduce a bill soon that would prevent border agents from forcing Americans returning to the country to unlock their phones without a warrant. Sen. Ron Wyden said in a letter to the secretary of […]
On the Wire Podcast: RSA 2017
As the RSA Conference was winding down this week in San Francisco, we gathered a few reporters and other friends to talk about all the security news from the conference, what we liked, things we didn’t like so much, and a lot of other topics. Guests this year include Brian Donohue from Cyber4Sight, Chris Brook […]
Security Lessons From Snowden
SAN FRANCISCO–Working in the security field offers ample opportunity to learn from your mistakes, and perhaps no organization has had to go through that process more publicly and painfully than the National Security Agency. The failures that led to Edward Snowden walking out the door with a massive cache of NSA data four years ago […]
The Joy and Pain of RSA Week
It’s that time of year again, when the security industry looks westward with a mixture of anxiety, dread, and expense-account induced giddiness: RSA week. When people who have never been to the RSA Conference before ask me what to expect, I never have a good answer. A lot of it depends on what your job […]