Security Explained

When we're considering the security properties of something, whether it's a building, an app, an API, a network, or really anything else, there is a core set of concepts that we lean on to inform our evaluation. These core concepts provide a foundation to reason about whether the security provided by the entity in question is sufficient and, in the case that it's not, how you can mitigate the risks posed by its flaws. In this first episode on core security concepts we discuss authentication vs. authorization, the principle of least privilege, some flaws of human behavior, security vs. usability, and the elusive notion of perfect security. With these concepts in hand you will be better equipped to consider the risks of everything you interact with in your day-to-day life.

It's the year 2020 and if you're anything like us, you may feel that there's no such thing as objective truth anymore. The tirade of untrue statements, propaganda, and conspiracy theories is enough to make even the most resilient people wary of their own minds and experiences. We are all collectively being gaslit through both misinformation and targeted disinformation campaigns, and they're working to devastating effect.

So what is misinformation? How about disinformation? Is there a difference? What purposes do they serve? How can you try to tease out the signal from the noise?

Join us in a conversation around how false "facts," propaganda, and conspiracy theories are spread and what effect they can have on you.

Links:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/politics/coronavirus-china-disinformation.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/us/coronavirus-text-messages-national-quarantine.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3490543/ 

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:uDwvS9v6FL8J:https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2014-feb-23-la-fi-hiltzik-20140221-story.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-b-1-d

https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/bb7t71/reddit_for_sale_how_we_bought_the_top_spot_for/

https://www.facebook.com/will.allen.9400/videos/4805424976137953/

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/28/tech/twitter-donald-trump-jr/index.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-8589497/Coca-Colas-work-scientists-low-point-history-public-health.html

Have you ever seen one of those ADT stickers on the window of someone's home and wondered if they actually have a home security system? Does having a sticker alone offer much security for your home? What is the best way to keep your home and its contents safe from intruders?

Join us in this week's episode as we cover home security systems, how they work, how they're flawed, and how you can better protect your home with one.

The Department of Justice has recently released a new memo entitled "International Statement: End-To-End Encryption and Public Safety," and while it says a lot about helping trafficked kids and combating other crime, the memo outlines proposals that will do nothing of the sort. In this episode we discuss the content of this memo and the eerily similar-sounding EARN IT act, pick apart which parts of both are valid and which aren't, and talk about the real motivations behind these documents. We cover the current processes for gaining lawful access to data and how these new proposals don't amount to any true improvement upon existing capabilities.

As has been the standard theme for the past two decades, American privacy is under attack. These new positions reflect a stark step in the wrong direction if you care to preserve human privacy.

Did you know that there's a Nigerian prince that just so happens to know you and needs you to help them transfer some money into your country? How about you download and share this FREE Starbucks gift card that your company's benefits program has enrolled in? Do you need to update Adobe Flash?

If you've ever seen an email informing you of anything above, chances are you were on the receiving end of a phishing attack. In this episode we cover what phishing means, what forms of phishing attacks are out there, how you can improve your chances at identifying communications as phishing, and we share a few stories about the phish we have caught.

With 20 days left until election day, the security of America's upcoming presidential election is something on a lot of peoples' minds. What can you do to ensure that your vote gets counted? What should you be concerned about and what isn't such a big deal? How are elections hacked and how can we protect them? We've got some stories and information to share with you.

Passwords are like opinions - everyone's got them. The bad news is that it's likely the bad guys have your password(s) too! In this episode we cover the basics of passwords, why they're so ubiquitous, where they fail from a security standpoint, and how you can protect your accounts from getting hacked even when someone else steals your password.

There's a lot of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) when it comes to stories of governments being able to hack into everything, corporations listening to your every move, and radio waves causing disease. Join us for the first installment in our conversations on conspiracy theories, where we'll help debunk (or potentially lend credence to) a number of seemingly far-fetched conspiracy theories in the security world.

In this episode we cover the ins and outs of virtual private networks (VPNs) and how they can affect your security and privacy. Have you heard that VPNs will make you unhackable? That they'll make you untraceable? We've heard all that too, so let's talk about what they'll actually do for you.

Featuring Chris Grayson, Drew Porter, and Logan Lamb.