Open Source Security

Josh and Kurt talk about package identifiers. We break this down in the context of an OpenSSF response to a CISA paper on software identifications. The identifiers that get all the air time are purl, CPE, SWID, and OmniBOR. This is a surprisingly complex problem space. It feels easy, but it's not.

• OpenSSF CISA response
• purl
• CPE
• OmniBOR
• SWID

Josh and Kurt talk about how some hackers saved the day with a Polish train. We delve into a discussion about how we don't really own anything anymore if you look around. There's a great talk from the Blender Conference about this and how GPL makes a difference in the world of software ownership. It's sort of a dire conversation, but not all hope is lost.

• Polish manufacturer accused of programming failures into its trains to gain more servicing business
• Polish Hackers Repaired Trains the Manufacturer Artificially Bricked. Now The Train Company Is Threatening Them
• Blender Conference Keynote
• Corey Doctorow
• Chicago has a problem until the year 2083 | Stand-up Maths
• Chicago Doesn't Own Its Own Streets | Climate Town

Josh and Kurt talk about a story asking for a Kubernetes LTS. Should open source projects have LTS versions? What does LTS even mean? Why is maintaining software so hard? It's a lively discussion all about the past, present, and future of open source LTS.

• Why Kubernetes needs an LTS
• Linux gives up on 6-year LTS kernels, says they're too much work

It's the 2023 Christmas Spectacular! Josh and Kurt talk about what would happen if Santa starts using AI to judge which children are naughty and nice. There's some fun in this one, but it does get pretty real. While we tried to discuss Santa using AI, the reality is this sort of AI is coming for many of us. AI will be making decisions for all of us in the near future (if it isn't already). While less fun than we had hoped for, it's an important conversation.

• Sea Elf
• Ollama
• UnitedHealth uses faulty AI to deny elderly patients medically necessary coverage, lawsuit claims
• Stephen Fry on AI
• Lawyer who cited cases concocted by AI asks judge to spare sanctions
• Hugging Face

Josh and Kurt talk about a few security stories about radio. The TETRA:BURST attack on police radios, spoofing GPS for airplanes near Iran, and Apple including cellular radios in the macbooks. The common thread between all these stories is looking at the return on investment for security. Sometimes good enough security is fine, sometimes it's not worth fixing certain security problems because the risk vs reward doesn't work out.

• TETRA:BURST
• GPS spoofing attack
• Apple MacBooks cellular radio
• Mossad vs Not Mossad

Josh and Kurt talk about Capcom claiming modding a game is akin to cheating. The arguments used are fundamentally one of equity vs equality. Humans love to focus on equality instead of equity when we deal with most problems. This is especially true in the world of security. Rather than doing something that has a net positive, we ignore the details and focus on doing something that feels "right".

• Why Capcom thinks PC game modding is akin to "cheating"
• Ben Heck

Josh and Kurt talk about the Canadian Government banning WeChat and Kaspersky. There's a lot of weird little details in this conversation. It fundamentally comes down to a conversation about risk. It's easy to spout nonsense about risk, but having an honest discussion about it is REALLY complicated. But the government plays by a very different set of rules.

• Canada bans WeChat, Kaspersky applications on government devices
• Fitness tracking app Strava gives away location of secret US army bases
• Phishing emails increase over 1,200 percent since ChatGPT launch
• FedRAMP Rev 5
• FAIR Institute

Josh and Kurt talk about the new EU eIDAS regulation. This is a bill that will force web browsers to add root certificates based on law instead of technical merits, which is how it's currently done. This is concerning for a number of reasons that we discuss on the show. This proposal is not a good idea.

• Mozilla site
• Root CA mailing list
• UK eIDAS regulation
• EFF statement on eIDAS
• Fixed XKCD comic

Josh and Kurt talk about security skills shortage. We start out on the topic of cybersecurity skills and weave our way around a number of human related problems in this space. The world of tech has a lot of weird problems and there's not a lot of movement to fix many of them. Tech is weird and hard, and with the almost complete lack of regulation creates some of these challenges. In the world of security we need a better talent pipeline, but that takes actual efforts, not just complaining on the internet.

• Schneier on security skill shortage
• British Airways flight smoke
• The Password Game
• Tesla accidents
• Lawn darts

Josh and Kurt talk about a proposed Dutch proposal that would allow the intelligence services to hack victims of adversaries they are in the process of infiltrating. The purpose of this discussion isn't to focus on the Dutch specifically, but rather to discuss the larger topic of government oversight. These are all very new concepts and nobody knows how things should work.

• Dutch hacking proposal
• Give Me Toilet Paper! by Asuka424 in 9:54 - Summer Games Done Quick 2023
• Flipper Zero Smart Meter
• Frequency Hopping
• Teri Kanfield