divisionbyzero

question . authority

Full Disk Encryption

As you may or may not know, I am gainfully employed by the Federal Government in the area of Information Security. Recently the Bush Administration responded to media hype to issue a Federal Mandate requiring all government owned laptops use encryption technologies to encrypt their data.

There are two interpretations of this memo.

  • Encrypt the ENTIRE disk.
  • Encrypt just the files containing the data.

So, what’s a lowly security administrator to do?! Choices are bad! Obviously you encrypt the entire disk! Right?! no? Why not?
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Airport Security

Bruce Schneier always has spot-on posts. Here’s his editorial on last week’s terror plots.

It’s really that simple. Stop being terrorized. Stop being scared to live. Stop taking life so seriously, you’re never gonna make it out alive. We don’t need billions of dollars of security screening software/hardware. Anyone with a week of spare time will be able to circumvent it anyways. This security is just a show, and I’m not entertained in the slightest.

I’m not flying again until these ridiculous regulations stop. We know we’re accepting a risk getting onto a plane. We’re 30,000 feet in the air, and if something mechanical fails, that’s a LONG way down. You’re accepting even more of a risk when you get in your car to go to work. You’re a billion times more likely to die in a car accident than a terror attack. So why aren’t we campaigning against ridiculous bullshit by insurance companies and state legislations that waste your tax dollars to make them money instead of fixing problems with automobile safety?

It doesn’t sell papers.

Update: It now appears that some people with some experience in Chemistry have questioned the plausability of the terrorist plot.
Update 2: More information about the acquisition of the information that led to the arrests and wide spread media terrorism.