Idiocy – Page 72 – Public Intelligence Blog

2013/12/222013/12/22

Mini-Me: NSA-RSA Debacle Gets Worse

07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency, Military, Officers Call

Huh?

Researchers Break RSA 4096 Encryption With Just A Microphone And A Couple Of Emails

As if it wasn’t enough that the NSA paid RSA $10 million to adopt an algorithm that wasn’t entirely secure, researchers have now demonstrated that they can break even RSA 4096 bit encryption with little more than a few emails and a microphone. And that microphone can indeed just be one in a smartphone sitting on the desk.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science discovered that they could steal even the largest, most secure RSA 4,096-bit encryption keys simply by listening to a laptop as it decrypts data.

To accomplish the trick, the researchers used a microphone to record the noises made by the computer, then ran that audio through filters to isolate the vibrations made by the electronic internals during the decryption process. With that accomplished, some cryptanalysis revealed the encryption key in around an hour.

Well, no, pace Engadget it is a little more complex than that. You can’t just listen to a computer and break the algos just like that.

Read full article with how they did it.

Full paper.

Continue reading “Mini-Me: NSA-RSA Debacle Gets Worse”

2013/12/19

Stephen E. Arnold: Microsoft Bing – Tits Up, No Milk + Microsoft @ PBI

Commerce, Idiocy, Ineptitude, IO Impotency

Whither the Bing Thing in 2014?

I found the data in the “2013 Bing Infographic” surprising. I continue to think of Bing as a search and retrieval system. I don’t use the system directly. I prefer to run queries on metasearch systems that use Bing as one source of content. The reason for my indirect access is that I don’t want distractions, social media content, and videos. In case you, gentle reader, have forgotten, I prefer to read. I read more rapidly than I can watch a video unfold in real time. I understand that some people find videos just the best possible way to locate information. I don’t.

The infographic has a number of data points. Let’s look at three in the context of locating a white paper, information about a person of interest, and a fact.

Continue reading “Stephen E. Arnold: Microsoft Bing – Tits Up, No Milk + Microsoft @ PBI”

2013/12/19

SchwartzReport: Truths That Matter

03 Economy, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, IO Impotency

I am not an Obama fan, as anyone who reads SR regularly knows. I find the disconnect between the soaring language in his speeches and the reality of how his Executive Branch operates — an issue distinct from the problems of his having to deal with a corrupt Theocratic Rightist House — very alarming. Two of the most disturbing aspects are the rise of the Orwelli! an surveillance under Obama's Administration, and, concurrently, the suppression of freedom of the press. A democracy without a free aggressive press very quickly ceases to be a democracy. History is quite clear on this. Here is an excellent essay on the relevant issues. This special report originally appeared on the Committee to Protect Journalists website, and is reprinted here with their permission.

“This is the Most Closed, Control Freak Administration I've Ever Cover”
LEONARD DOWNIE and SARA RAFSKY – AlterNet (U.S.)

EXTRACT:

This report will examine all these issues: legal policies of the Obama administration that disrupt relationships between journalists and government sources; the surveillance programs that cast doubt on journalists’ ability to protect those sources; restrictive practices for disclosing information that make it more difficult to hold the government accountable for its actions and decision-making; and manipulative use of administration-controlled media to circumvent scrutiny by the press.

Read full article (ten screens).

2013/12/172013/12/17

Eagle: Charles Hugh Smith on What’s Real? What’s Fake?

Commerce, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, IO Impotency

300 Million Talons... — 300 Million Talons…

What's Real? What's Fake?

Is the unemployment rate real or fake? It is obviously fake, but we want to believe the fake is real for a variety of reasons.

We like to think we know the difference between what's real and what's fake. When we're fooled by a fake Rolex watch purchased for $20 on some humid Asian street corner, we shrug it off: it's no big deal because the fake isn't harming anyone.

And when it's difficult to discern the fake from the legitimate, as in fine art paintings and financial policy, we rely on experts to differentiate between the two.

But what if the “experts” are as clueless as the rest of us? What if they've been corrupted by easy money to authenticate the fake as legitimate? Consider ObamaCare, an extraordinarily complex policy that “experts” assure us is a phenomenal advancement that is “working well.”

But what if ObamaCare is a fake? What if it is really not insurance at all, but a giant skimming machine designed to enrich and solidify the power of the state-cartel that operates the sickcare system?

Continue reading “Eagle: Charles Hugh Smith on What's Real? What's Fake?”

2013/12/172013/12/17

Tikkun Rabbi Michael Lerner: War on Poverty Round Two — Theater, But Worth Noting… + Poverty RECAP

01 Poverty, 11 Society, Corruption, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude

Great news!

Congessman Keith Ellison, who represents Minneapolis/St Paul in the U.S. House of Representatives, introduced a resolution in effect endorsing the NSP version of a Global Marshall Plan into the House of Representatives as H Res 439. It was referred to the Republican controlled Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives. Please read the resolution below and send thanks to his legislative aide Vic Edgerton (contact information at end of post).

Continue reading “Tikkun Rabbi Michael Lerner: War on Poverty Round Two — Theater, But Worth Noting… + Poverty RECAP”

2013/12/162013/12/16

SchwartzReport: Truths That Matter

Civil Society, Commerce, Corruption, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, Law Enforcement

This is the latest in a trend that I have been writing about for almost 20 years: the over-medication of children. The treatment of children in the United States in so many ways is one of the most depressing things about our culture.

Are too Many Kids Taking Antipsychotic Drugs?
Consumer Reports

This is the latest in a string of reports concerning an international trend that holds profound implications for our future. Once again we are being told that the way we order the world is out of balance. We place profit ahead of wellness.

Countdown: Sperm Counts in Freefall
The Economist (U.K.)

Here is the latest on the American Gulag at the Federal level. It is a shameful story.

Government Watchdog: We Have a Growing Federal Prison ‘Crisis'
ANDREW COHEN – The Atlantic

There seems little doubt that 9/11 was maneuvered to achieve some things while suppressing others. But, as usual, over time the truth leaks out. This is a conservative site, but the claims made in this report are documented.

Inside the Saudi 9/11 Coverup
PAUL SPERRY, Hoover Institution Media Fellow – New York Post

We believe that America is a level playing field where hard work assures advancement, and that upward mobility is a fundamental American cultural trait. It is a lie as this report spells out. If you can't tell yourself the truth, you can't do much.

United States Is Now the Most Unequal of All Advanced Economies
ERIC ZUESSE – Popular Resistance

2013/12/152013/12/15

Marcus Aurelius: Benghazi Stand Down Testimony

Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, Military

‘Stand down’: CIA Benghazi team clash led to controversial order

WASHINGTON — CIA officers revealed a clash over how quickly they should go help the besieged U.S. ambassador during the 2012 attack on an outpost in Libya, and a standing order for them to avoid violent encounters, according to a congressman and others who heard their private congressional testimony or were briefed on it.

The Obama administration has been dogged by complaints that the White House, Pentagon and State Department may not have done enough before and during the attack to save U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others, and by accusations that it later engaged in a cover-up.

Read full story (2 screens).