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Is the Computer Security Community Barking ­Up the Wrong Trees?
From BLOG@CACM

Is the Computer Security Community Barking ­Up the Wrong Trees?

There's a big mismatch right now between what the data says about computer security vulnerabilities and what kind of research is being done and products offered...

Password Policies Are Getting Out of Control
From BLOG@CACM

Password Policies Are Getting Out of Control

 At least 9 characters long. No repeated characters. At least 1 number, 1 special character, and 1 capital letter. Cannot be same as last 10 passwords. Must change...

Obama Administration Announces Landmark Global Internet Strategy
From BLOG@CACM

Obama Administration Announces Landmark Global Internet Strategy

The White House this week announced a comprehensive global strategy document bringing multiple agencies together in an effort to emphasize their commitment to a...

Information Privacy: Changing Norms and Expectations
From BLOG@CACM

Information Privacy: Changing Norms and Expectations

That picture of you at a family reunion, squinting into the sun, can rarely be delimited by a physical location once it is placed on the web. Instead, information...

Embracing Noise or Why Computer Scientists Should Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Errors
From BLOG@CACM

Embracing Noise or Why Computer Scientists Should Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Errors

Precision is not required in everything or even most things.  Failures are best handled by expecting them all the time, not treating them as exceptions.  We should...

Why Have There Been So Many Security Breaches Recently?
From BLOG@CACM

Why Have There Been So Many Security Breaches Recently?

We're only five months into this year, but there have been a large number of sensational security breaches. Why have there been so many, and what can we do about...

Let's Teach Malware When It's Ready: The Purpose of ­Undergrad CS
From BLOG@CACM

Let's Teach Malware When It's Ready: The Purpose of ­Undergrad CS

Ledin's call for teaching malware to all undergraduate students conflicts with my understanding of the purpose of an undergraduate CS degree. 

Talking With PCAST
From BLOG@CACM

Talking With PCAST

I told three stories at PCAST — The Google Story, Model Checking, and Machine Learning — as a way to illustrate the importance of sustained federal funding of basic...

A Tale of A Serious Attempt At P≠NP
From BLOG@CACM

A Tale of A Serious Attempt At P≠NP

This is a discussion of the recent claimed proof that P≠NP by Vinay Deolalikar.

Remembering Internet Dogs
From BLOG@CACM

Remembering Internet Dogs

An iconic cartoon by Peter Steiner, which appeared in The New Yorker in 1993, captured the nature of the nascent Internet. It shows a dog seated at a computer,...

CFP: Intelligent Transportation Systems
From BLOG@CACM

CFP: Intelligent Transportation Systems

One of the goals of this years Computers Freedom and Privacy conference is to ask the question, "Can we be 'smart' and private?"  Wednesday's panel onIntellegent...

CFP: Opening Plenary Privacy and Free Speech
From BLOG@CACM

CFP: Opening Plenary Privacy and Free Speech

The opening plenary of this year's Computers Freedom and Privacy Conference (CFP) had a decidedly business orientation.  Titled "Privacy and Free Speech: It's Good...

Malvertisements Growing as Online Security Threat
From BLOG@CACM

Malvertisements Growing as Online Security Threat

Malvertisements are attempts to inject malware and scareware into advertisements, leveraging the reach that advertising networks have. This blog entry examines...

What Security Advice Should We Give?
From BLOG@CACM

What Security Advice Should We Give?

Are people being rational when they ignore the security advice we give them?  If so, what advice should we give them that they would not ignore?

Has the Spam War Been Won?
From BLOG@CACM

Has the Spam War Been Won?

A decade ago, e-mail spam was a severe problem.  Now, e-mail spam is barely noticeable.  After years of battles between spam filters and spammers creating new tricks...

The Ghosts of Holiday Shopping: Past, Present and Future
From BLOG@CACM

The Ghosts of Holiday Shopping: Past, Present and Future

In many parts of the western world, the frenzy of holiday shopping has reached its crescendo.  With apologies to Charles Dickens, it is instructive to consider...

Designing Effective Warnings
From BLOG@CACM

Designing Effective Warnings

Computer security warnings are something we all see everyday, but many people find them annoying and ignore them. What are better ways of designing warnings?

Designing Effective Interfaces For ­Usable Privacy and Security
From BLOG@CACM

Designing Effective Interfaces For ­Usable Privacy and Security

I often cringe when I hear highly technical engineers talk about people. I usually hear broad generalizations tossed about, like "people are lazy, that's why they...

Helping Younger People Protect Themselves from Security Attacks
From BLOG@CACM

Helping Younger People Protect Themselves from Security Attacks

One potentially disturbing trend that came out in a recent eCrime meeting is that younger people 18-24 years old seem to be more susceptible to phishing attacks...

Designing Effective Security Warnings
From BLOG@CACM

Designing Effective Security Warnings

How do we create effective security warnings that people don't just swat away? Here, I report on one line of research that examines this question.
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