Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast

When can anyone search through your most intimate records and belongings? When you throw them away, of course! The US Supreme Court has already ruled that the Fourth Amendment doesn’t protect your garbage can or recycle bin. Today we talk about a very interesting case in Oregon where local reporters turned the tables on the authorities, with very interesting results.

I’ll also update you on the latest WiFi security standards, a police department that awarded cybersecurity quiz takers with infected USB drives, and some welcome (but limited) changes to border search policies for electronic devices.

For Further Insight: 

* Portland dumpster diving: http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-1616-rubbish.html-2

* Picking a good shredder: http://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/take-out-trash-securely/

* Help me to help you! Visit: https://patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons

When can anyone search through your most intimate records and belongings? When you throw them away, of course! The US Supreme Court has already ruled that the Fourth Amendment doesn’t protect your garbage can or recycle bin. Today we talk about a very interesting case in Oregon where local reporters turned the tables on the authorities, with very interesting results.

I’ll also update you on the latest WiFi security standards, a police department that awarded cybersecurity quiz takers with infected USB drives, and some welcome (but limited) changes to border search policies for electronic devices.

For Further Insight: 

* Portland dumpster diving: http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-1616-rubbish.html-2

* Picking a good shredder: http://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/take-out-trash-securely/

* Help me to help you! Visit: https://patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons

This week a couple of truly nasty computer hardware bugs were revealed by security researchers. Dubbed Meltdown and Spectre, the exploits take advantage of performance features found in Intel CPU chips as far back as 1995 and most other modern CPUs from AMD and ARM. Luckily, chip and software makers have been working in the background for months on fixes and mitigations, and many of them have already been deployed.

I’ll walk you through what these bugs are, what they actually mean to you, and what you can do to limit your exposure to them. Sadly, this is probably just the first of many hardware bugs that will be revealed - and hardware bugs are often very hard if not impossible to fix without simply replacing the entire device.

For Further Insight:

* Official website for Meltdown/Spectre: https://meltdownattack.com/

* Helpful list of affected systems and current state of fixes: https://gizmodo.com/check-this-list-to-see-if-you-re-still-vulnerable-to-me-1821780843

* How to surf the web safely: http://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/browser-safety-choose-weapon/

* Help me to help you! Visit: https://patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons

This week a couple of truly nasty computer hardware bugs were revealed by security researchers. Dubbed Meltdown and Spectre, the exploits take advantage of performance features found in Intel CPU chips as far back as 1995 and most other modern CPUs from AMD and ARM. Luckily, chip and software makers have been working in the background for months on fixes and mitigations, and many of them have already been deployed.

I’ll walk you through what these bugs are, what they actually mean to you, and what you can do to limit your exposure to them. Sadly, this is probably just the first of many hardware bugs that will be revealed - and hardware bugs are often very hard if not impossible to fix without simply replacing the entire device.

For Further Insight:

Official website for Meltdown/Spectre: https://meltdownattack.com/

Helpful list of affected systems and current state of fixes: https://gizmodo.com/check-this-list-to-see-if-you-re-still-vulnerable-to-me-1821780843

How to surf the web safely: http://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/browser-safety-choose-weapon/

Help me to help you! Visit: https://patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons

Can law enforcement force you to divulge your passwords? How do you limit the scope of a search warrant on an iPhone? Is powerful encryption technology creating ‘warrant-free zones’ in cyberspace? Or are we actually in the Golden Age of Surveillance?

Today I speak with Andrew Crocker (Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation) about how our Constitutional rights work in cyberspace. We’ll talk about the locked iPhone in the Texas mass shooting case and discuss how it relates to the San Bernardino case from 2015 and the Crypto Wars of the 1990’s.

Andrew Crocker is a staff attorney on the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s civil liberties team. He focuses on EFF’s national security and privacy docket, as well as the Coders' Rights Project. While in law school, Andrew worked at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, and the Center for Democracy and Technology. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University and an M.F.A. in creative writing from New York University.

For Further Insight:

Website: https://www.eff.org/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/agcrocker,

https://twitter.com/EFF

Donate to the EFF! https://supporters.eff.org/donate

Help me to help you! Visit: https://patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons

Can law enforcement force you to divulge your passwords? How do you limit the scope of a search warrant on an iPhone? Is powerful encryption technology creating ‘warrant-free zones’ in cyberspace? Or are we actually in the Golden Age of Surveillance?

Today I speak with Andrew Crocker (Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation) about how our Constitutional rights work in cyberspace. We’ll talk about the locked iPhone in the Texas mass shooting case and discuss how it relates to the San Bernardino case from 2015 and the Crypto Wars of the 1990’s.

Andrew Crocker is a staff attorney on the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s civil liberties team. He focuses on EFF’s national security and privacy docket, as well as the Coders' Rights Project. While in law school, Andrew worked at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, and the Center for Democracy and Technology. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University and an M.F.A. in creative writing from New York University.

For Further Insight:

Website: https://www.eff.org/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/agcrocker,

https://twitter.com/EFF

Donate to the EFF! https://supporters.eff.org/donate

Help me to help you! Visit: https://patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons

Can law enforcement force you to divulge your passwords? How do you limit the scope of a search warrant on an iPhone? Is powerful encryption technology creating ‘warrant-free zones’ in cyberspace? Or are we actually in the Golden Age of Surveillance?

Today I speak with Andrew Crocker (Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation) about how our Constitutional rights work in cyberspace. We’ll talk about the locked iPhone in the Texas mass shooting case and discuss how it relates to the San Bernardino case from 2015 and the Crypto Wars of the 1990’s.

Andrew Crocker is a staff attorney on the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s civil liberties team. He focuses on EFF’s national security and privacy docket, as well as the Coders' Rights Project. While in law school, Andrew worked at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, and the Center for Democracy and Technology. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University and an M.F.A. in creative writing from New York University.

For Further Insight:

Website: https://www.eff.org/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/agcrocker,

https://twitter.com/EFF

Donate to the EFF! https://supporters.eff.org/donate

Help me to help you! Visit: https://patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons

It’s that time of year again - time for New Years Resolutions! While you consider going to the gym or maybe drinking a little less, we’re in the Information Age now - and that means you need to get your digital house in order, too!

In our first show of 2018, I’ll give you several great projects to improve your cybersecurity and privacy - some easy, some that will take some time - but all of them are crucial in today’s world of hackers and prying eyes. With these top tips, you’ll be protected against malware, computer crashes, mass surveillance, and overzealous marketers!

For Further Insight:

* LastPass password manager: https://www.lastpass.com/

* TunnelBear VPN: https://www.tunnelbear.com/

* Firefox web browser: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

* Backblaze cloud backup: https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-backup.html#af9kxp

* Signal secure messaging app: https://signal.org/

* ProtonMail: https://protonmail.com/

* Help me to help you! Visit: https://patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons

It’s that time of year again - time for New Years Resolutions! While you consider going to the gym or maybe drinking a little less, we’re in the Information Age now - and that means you need to get your digital house in order, too!

In our first show of 2018, I’ll give you several great projects to improve your cybersecurity and privacy - some easy, some that will take some time - but all of them are crucial in today’s world of hackers and prying eyes. With these top tips, you’ll be protected against malware, computer crashes, mass surveillance, and overzealous marketers!

For Further Insight:

* LastPass password manager: https://www.lastpass.com/

* TunnelBear VPN: https://www.tunnelbear.com/

* Firefox web browser: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

* Backblaze cloud backup: https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-backup.html#af9kxp

* Signal secure messaging app: https://signal.org/

* ProtonMail: https://protonmail.com/

* Help me to help you! Visit: https://patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons

It’s that time of year again - time for New Years Resolutions! While you consider going to the gym or maybe drinking a little less, we’re in the Information Age now - and that means you need to get your digital house in order, too!

In our first show of 2018, I’ll give you several great projects to improve your cybersecurity and privacy - some easy, some that will take some time - but all of them are crucial in today’s world of hackers and prying eyes. With these top tips, you’ll be protected against malware, computer crashes, mass surveillance, and overzealous marketers!

For Further Insight:

LastPass password manager: https://www.lastpass.com/

TunnelBear VPN: https://www.tunnelbear.com/

Firefox web browser: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

Backblaze cloud backup: https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-backup.html#af9kxp

Signal secure messaging app: https://signal.org/

ProtonMail: https://protonmail.com/

Help me to help you! Visit: https://patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons