Tag Archives: security

MSD’s Leaky Servers

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These locked-down kiosks are provided so you could look for jobs online, send off CVs etc. They???ve had some basic features disabled, which supposedly meant that you couldn???t just open up File Manager and poke around the machine. However, by just using the Open File dialogue in Microsoft Office, you could map any unsecured computer on the network, and then open up any accessible file.

This basically means you can grab any file that wasn???t bolted down on the network, while standing in the middle of a WINZ office. And that???s what I did.

via publicaddress.net

Not exactly rocket science.

LG Optimus Net first smartphone to enable mobile payment in New Zealand

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The phone that acts as an eftpos card has been predicted for years. Just recently, Paymark CEO Simon Tong has been discussing how New Zealand???s mobile phone companies and Paymark are working together to speed up the introduction of the ???mobile wallet???.

That future is now one step closer, with the launch of the LG Optimus Net, New Zealand???s very first secure payment Smartphone using the latest technology NFC (near-field communication technology).

This game-changing mobile phone can be used to pay for everyday essentials such as bus fares, train tickets, taxi rides and coffees.

It???s fully Snapper-compatible, although unlike the traditional Snapper card you can view your itemised balance, top it up anytime and pay all via your mobile phone.

The LG Optimus Net is also secure. If lost, the service can be immediately disabled with one phone call to Snapper. Once found it will be up and running again in minutes.

???LG is building a name for itself at the forefront of technological developments, from OLED TVs to truly innovative mobile phones,??? says LG Marketing Manager Richard Bryant. ???As New Zealand???s first NFC phone, the LG Optimus Net will help revolutionise the way people use both their phone and their money.???

The LG Optimus Net is sharply priced at $299 and is available from May exclusively through 2 Degrees stores.

via geekzone.co.nz

Awesome, never sadder to miss an event. TNC should be abuzz.

Schneier on Security: "Liars and Outliers"

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How has the nature of trust changed in the information age?

These notions of trust and trustworthiness are as old as our species. Many of the specific societal pressures that induce trust are as old as civilisation. Morals and reputational considerations are certainly that old, as are laws. Technical security measures have changed with technology, as well as details around reputational and legal systems, but by and large they’re basically the same.

What has changed in modern society is scale. Today we need to trust more people than ever before, further away ??? whether politically, ethnically or socially ??? than ever before. We need to trust larger corporations, more diverse institutions and more complicated systems. We need to trust via computer networks. This all makes trust, and inducing trust, harder. At the same time, the scaling of technology means that the bad guys can do more damage than ever before. That also makes trust harder. Navigating all of this is one of the most fundamental challenges of our society in this new century.

Given the dangers out there, should we trust anyone? Isn’t “trust no one” the first rule of security?

It might be the first rule of security, but it’s the worst rule of society.

via schneier.com