Oh... and in case anyone's keeping score... yes, Vixie was right. So... yeah. I guess we can all sleep soundly again. :)
Keeping an eye on online identity, privacy, and security.
Thoughts
This page displays the recent posts I've published via my Mastodon account @jtrentadams@infosec.exchange.
The best thing about running DNS experiments? ... being forced to take a break every thirty minutes between tests. :)
My daughter packed an on-theme lunch for 80's day at school... ten points to anyone who knows who she's dressing as today. :)
Best comment I've heard at a security conference in a while...
"I authored the RFC you mentioned. Thanks for the comment... but you're a tad late to final call. By more than a decade."
This is the moment civilization died.
What's funny is when a sales call tries selling you on a technology you helped develop. Do your homework!!
When going into "Fancy Bear Goes Phishing" by @scottjshapiro, I was interested in his unique take on "hacking". I was hoping to learn something from his perspective as a law & philosophy professor at Yale. Unfortunately, he stumbles when trying to make his points leading me to disregard many of his conclusions.
I was fine with his glossing over the more technical details... an expert in a field can't get hung up when a writer for popular audiences skips the complicated bits... but what bugged me was when he got technical details flatly wrong. These lead to mistaken conclusions in his reasoning about the behavior and psychology related to various attacks he discussed.
In the end, I'd suggest skipping this book. Experts will likely be annoyed with the mistakes, while non-experts might come away with an inaccurate understanding about how malicious attacks (and associated defenses) actually work.
When writing a paper about security standards, I don't assume folks will read the entire piece, but rather sample what's of interest to them (e.g. the intro, figures, and conclusion)... but I'm eternally grateful for editorial reviewers that provide feedback on each statement and every comma (even though it takes a lot of time to address them all).
Here's to the reviewers!
Interesting article in Scientific American discussing barriers to permanent human colonization of space... with a great writeup about our annual Analog Astronaut Conference we put on at Biosphere2!
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-well-never-live-in-space/
Anyone else jolted awake by a recurring nightmare in which they're convinced they never turned in their thesis and didn't actually graduate?
Question: What's the best Mastodon server chock full of users carrying on robust and interesting conversations about commercial human space exploration?
I have a love/hate relationship with advertising... on the one hand I hate it when someone tries to "sell me" on something I don't want... on the other hand, I like "free" content paid for by ads.
Driving the system, of course, is a segment of the population that I also love/hate. Specifically... those who "fall for" those crazy ads. As the most gullible people (which bugs me), they're also the reason ads work (which makes me happy they're subsidizing my content).
So... I guess I have a complicated relationship not just with advertisers, but also with the folks who buy their snake oil (which is what greases the gears of the ad model). Hmph.
I honestly don't know what's more fulfilling than being a mentor to the next generation and sharing hard-earned lessons with folks eager to embrace them.
My interview with Rick Tumlinson on his "Space Revolution" podcast is now available. Listen in as we chat about my work with the Analog Astronaut Foundation.
https://thespacerevolution.podbean.com/e/episode-16-j-trent-adams/
It was brought to my attention that I do a poor job of clickbaiting... so how's this?
"You Won't Believe How a Centuries Old Code by Mary Queen of Scots is Cracked by a Musician, Scientist, and Computer Geek"
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01611194.2022.2160677
#historical #security #cryptography #cryptanalysis #clickbait