A joint U.S. and Canadian organization that certifies encryption tools for use by federal government agencies has suspended its validation of OpenSSL cryptographic technology for the second time in less than six months.
The decision means that government agencies cannot purchase the open-source tool for the time being, although those that have already done so will still be allowed to use it. OpenSSL is an open-source implementation of the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer security protocols. It is widely used to encrypt and decrypt data on the Internet.
Chinese engineers have allegedly cracked Skype's Internet telephony protocol, according to a Thursday blog posting.
If the blog posting is correct, software developers who currently don't have access to Skype's protocol could develop and sell alternative Skype clients. This could prove problematic for eBay, which has kept the protocol private since acquiring Skype last year. In a statement, a Skype representative acknowledged but dismissed the claim.
Reports of data theft often conjure up images of malicious hackers breaking into remote databases to filch Social Security numbers, credit card records and other personal information.
But a lot of the time, the scenario is much simpler: A careless worker at a company or agency with weak security policies falls prey to a low-tech street thug who runs off with a laptop loaded with private data.
PGP is often thought of as an encryption system, but your private key is a digital signature that can prove who your message comes from, as well as showing that it hasn’t been tampered with.
THE University of Melbourne has announced a $9 million international joint venture to commercialise anti-eavesdropper technology based on quantum cryptography.“Using a unique diamond-based device which produces a single photon of light, we will be able to detect eavesdroppers and stop highly sensitive information being intercepted or stolen,” said Quantum Communications Victoria (QCV) CEO and University of Melbourne researcher Dr Shane Huntington.