Equilibrium Networks beta

19 March 2010

Our visual network traffic monitoring software (for background information, see our website) has successfully passed our internal tests, so we are packaging a Linux-oriented beta distribution that is planned for snail-mailing (no downloads–sorry, but export regulations still apply) on a limited basis before the end of the month. The beta includes premium features that will not be available with our planned free/open-source distribution later this year, but at this early stage we will be happy to provide a special license free of charge to a limited number of qualifying US organizations.

Participants in our beta program will be expected to provide timely and useful feedback on the software, e.g.

•    filling perceived gaps in documentation
•    proposing and/or implementing improvements
•    making feature requests or providing constructive criticism
•    providing testimonial blurbs or case studies
•    etc.

The software should be able to run in its entirely on a dedicated x86 workstation with four or more cores and a network tap (though you may prefer to try out distributed hardware configurations). If your organization is interested in participating in our beta program, please include a sentence or two describing your anticipated use of this visual network traffic monitoring software along with your organizational background, POC and a physical address in an email to beta [at our domain name]. DVDs will only be mailed once you’ve accepted the EULA. Bear in mind that beta slots are limited. Enjoy!

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Random bits

15 March 2010

“I do believe NSA is still ahead, but not by much — a handful of years”

“[A researcher] gave a talk on his then current project to prove a certain OS kernel was secure…they hoped in two years to have a proof of the OS’s correctness. What struck me during his talk was he could write down on the board, a [formula that] captured the notion of data security: if a certain function f had this property, then he would be able to assert his OS could not leak any information…At the end of his talk I asked him if he wanted a proof now that his function f satisfied the formula. He looked at me puzzled, as did everyone else. He pointed out his f was defined by his OS, so how could I possibly prove it satisfied his formula—the f was thousands of lines of code. He added they were working hard on proving this formula, and hoped to have a full proof in the next 24 months…I walked to the board and wrote out a short set theory proof to back up my claim—any f had his property…I thought he would be shocked. I thought he might be upset, or even embarrassed his formula was meaningless. He was not at all. [He] just said they would have to find another formula to prove.”

“it’s possible to focus light through opaque materials and detect objects hidden behind them, provided you know enough about the material”

Leave a Comment » | Communications security, Random bits, Science, Security | Permalink
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Random bits

4 March 2010

Narus develops a scary sleuth for social media

An invisible quantum tripwire

Aspects of CNCI declassified

IPv6 thoughts from Arbor

“Hackers who breached Google and other companies in January targeted source-code management systems”

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Random bits

2 March 2010

Ryan Singel’s cri de coeur about cyberwar hype is too juicy to merely provide a link. A few choice excerpts:

The Washington Post gave [former DIRNSA and DNI] McConnell free space to declare that we are losing some sort of cyberwar…But that’s not warfare. That’s espionage…Those enamored with the idea of “cyberwar” aren’t dissuaded by fact-checking…[if the DoS attack on Estonia] was cyberwar, it’s pretty clear the net will be just fine. In fact, none of [the commonly cited examples] demonstrate the existence of a cyberwar, let alone that we are losing it. But this battle isn’t about truth. It’s about power…

the problem with developing cyberweapons…is that you need to know where to point them…The military needs targets…Never shy of extending its power, the military industrial complex wants to turn the internet into yet another venue for an arms race. And it’s waging a psychological warfare campaign on the American people to make that so. The military industrial complex is backed by sensationalism, and a gullible and pageview-hungry media…

There is no cyberwar and we are not losing it. The only war going on is one for the soul of the internet. But if…self-interested exaggerators dominate our nation’s discourse about online security, we will lose that war — and the open internet will be its biggest casualty.

On the opposite end of the nuance spectrum: more than 41% of the zeros of the zeta function are on the critical line.

4 Comments | Communications security, Mathematics, Random bits | Permalink
Posted by eqnets

Random bits

1 March 2010

“We must break one fundamental assumption that [the malware creator] relies on: Malware uses replay attacks. In cryptography a replay attack is the re-use of a message to fool an encryption system. No one, today, would forget to add time stamps to their messages; otherwise, an attacker could simpler resend a message and defeat their security…[the malware creator] relies on this very type of attack everyday. If [he or she] has malware code capable of getting control of one machine, then it will also be able to get control of millions of other machines. This is a replay attack on a grand scale. …In order to stop replay attacks, I propose that we change the hardware so they are impossible.”

“Instead of running your websites through the gauntlet, risking downtime from intrusive scans, only to discover you have vulnerabilities just like everyone else — how about making the vendor eat their own dog food. Ask the sales rep for a trial license and permission to scan THEIR production commerce website(s).”

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Posted by eqnets

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