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Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer

reuters.com

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Re: Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer

#101

Post by strictfp »

smtddr wrote: post #21

>> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6942165 tptacek 5 hours ago | link I am not generally a believer in the theory that NSA actively subverts Internet standards† †(my best guess is that the standards NSA was actively subverting were about international telephony; subverting the IETF is a little like subverting the Linux kernel --- doable, but bad tradecraft) Does this count?(not trying to be sarcastic or a smart-…

RSA SecurID was already compromised in 2011, and RSA more or less tried to hush-hush it: digitaltrends.com/computing/rsa-securid-data-stolen-by-a-nation-state/

Re: Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer

#102

Post by PeterisP »

moocowduckquack wrote: post #71
objclxt wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are making an assumption that the primary target of SIGINT is terrorists, but in reality it's actually nation states. I think another story just came out today about GCHQ targeting EU officials and embassies.

Nation states are likely to roll their own dongles though. The folk that use these are bluechips meeting due diligence requirements.

NSA also does commercial espionage to harm non-US bluechip companies, which are quite likely to use those dongles for internal data.

Re: Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer

#103

Post by nimble »

[deleted] wrote: post #79
lawnchair_larry wrote: post #22

Eagerly awaiting tptacek's retraction to his insistence that this was not a backdoor. Edit: Nevermind, apparently he already did a mere 8 hours ago, replying to my own comment. Shortly before this broke. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6941366

[deleted]

> Jesus, what a tool you are.

This sounds like the start of a pretty angry prayer.

Re: Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer

#104

Post by [deleted] »

angersock wrote: post #72
jballanc wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heh...I certainly had a good chuckle at this comment. I don't honestly think that the NSA ever paid more than lip-service to the "war on terror". They've been doing the same job since long before Sept. 11, 2001. Before the "war on terror" it was the "cold war", there just happens to have been an awkward gap in between... The NSA is in the business of Signals Intelligence. Their job, plainly stated, is to have access…

This is a very well-put comment. The core cause there would seem to be sharing comm channels with foriegn actors--the same thing that makes our position with regards to the 'net so awesome also means that the NSA is kind of forced to get involved closer to home. It's a tricky tradeoff.

[deleted]

Re: Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer

#105

Post by RexRollman »

undoware wrote: post #90

...which is why Theo Deraadt is now suddenly everyone's best friend, despite his personality. :) OpenSSH and its mother project, OpenBSD, are now all that is left of our civilization's freedom to think. Thanks, Theo, for never selling us out; for being such an uncompromising bastard; for not being like the RSA. May Athena gird you for war against the Spartans.

Most of what Deraadt says makes sense and I almost always agree with him but he can be an asshole. It has turned a lot of people off, from what I can see.

Re: Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer

#106

Post by psykovsky »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #74
ye wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think of it from the executives perspective: Option A: keep mouth shut, make a shit ton of money Option B: become a martyr, face prison time People like Snowden are rare.

Those aren't the only options. Anyone with any smarts can figure out how to quietly and anonymously leak a lot of these details. The fact is that they were too cowardly to do even that though.

If they do it anonymously nobody will believe the docs and say they are just elaborate hoaxes by tinfoil hatters...

Re: Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer

#107

Post by PeterisP »

bowlofpetunias wrote: post #14
dpratt wrote: post #2

Perhaps I am not reading the article correctly, but it sounds to me like RSA products can no longer be trusted.

No, it sounds like no product from any American company can be trusted as long as the current regime is in place. At least that's the message that comes through loud and clear in the rest of the world.

The same influence approach ($10m to choose a supposedly okay algorithm) would work just as well for most similar non-American companies, it isn't claimed that RSA did this because of some mandate which would fail if they'd be headquartered in, say, France.

Re: Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer

#108

Post by mitchty »

suprgeek wrote: post #84

NSA invents weak (Back Door present) crypto algo. Pushes RSA to make it a Default in a key function (RNG) by giving them $10 Million. NSA points to RSA as an early adopter and gets NIST to certify it. Millions of systems are now protected by an RSA product that the NSA deliberately weakened. Any sufficiently skilled rogue actor can attack virtually any business that uses these RSA products - NSA (Cyber security Comma…

Just a side note, rouge = red, rogue = villain/scoundrel/etc... I hate being that guy but it happened twice and triggered my have to post response.

Tshuß!

Re: Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer

#109

Post by bane »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #78
guelo wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I think one of the things you can't trust these days are comments by tptacek.

I disagree with many of tptacek's opinions but honestly he's one of the reasons this site is great. He is capable of arguing with people with strongly opposing views with civility, which is something that is entirely too rare these days. He's also capable of admitting when he's wrong and being gracious when proven right. Also entirely too rare these days. I'd rather have a thousand tptaceks on this site than zero.

> He is capable of arguing with people with strongly opposing views with civility

You're clearly talking about a different tptacek, widely known on this site for his coarsely abrasive, impossibly high friction, social interactions and not admitting he's wrong on issues trivial or important. He's also widely known for a being an expert in his field.

All that being said, I agree with you that this site is more valuable with him on it and regularly participating. He's one of the actual experts in their field that makes this a much better forum than any other. IMHO, it's well worth the comment burn to talk and debate (friendly or not) with somebody of his caliber.

And being wrong every once in a while (regardless of his rightness in this case) does not make him either incompetent or malicious. It just makes him human.

Re: Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer

#110

Post by selmnoo »

mcphilip wrote: post #88
lawnchair_larry wrote: post #22

Eagerly awaiting tptacek's retraction to his insistence that this was not a backdoor. Edit: Nevermind, apparently he already did a mere 8 hours ago, replying to my own comment. Shortly before this broke. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6941366

Your reaction to this story was wondering if it can be used to demonstrate another member of HN being wrong in the past? Petty

Not just 'another member of HN', the most high-rated, the most prolific member of HN who is very often found shaping the direction of discussions here and is now a considerable voice in the security community. He's also someone that new tech startup founders listen to when deciding what to use and what not to use.
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