Author Archives: Trip Volpe
Security Review: “Smart Guns”
Overview This is a security review of “Smart Guns,” a general class of locking/use prevention mechanisms for firearms that rely on biometrics or other authentication indicators (such as “smart” chips embedded in the gun and in rings or other tokens … Continue reading
Current Events: British Police Want DNA of Children
From The Guardian, and on Slashdot. Police in the United Kingdom may soon be be able to collect DNA samples from children if they exhibit behaviors that suggest they may commit crimes later in life, at least if Scotland Yard … Continue reading
Google to Store Patient Health Data
News article here, covered on Slashdot here. Google, with the cooperation of the Cleveland Clinic, is beginning a project to record medical history and other health-related data for patients. The stated goal is to provide patients with a way to … Continue reading
Security Review: Metal Detectors and Security Checkpoints
Anybody who has flown on a national airline or had business in a federal, state, or county government building has certainly had the experience of waiting in the queue to be ushered through a beeping metal-detecting portal, separated from bags … Continue reading
Polish teen uses TV remote to derail trains
Covered on The Register, Telegraph.co.uk, and Slashdot. Earlier this month, a 14-year-old in Poland used a modified TV remote control to directly interfere with rail junction controls in the city of Lodz. He obtained information on the operation of the … Continue reading
Watching an Exploit Unfold: Sex Offenders and the ESRB
This post documents an actual vulnerability exploit I recently witnessed. Details have been changed to protect the stupid. I happened to be loafing around on IRC yesterday, when an unusual opportunity to observe some pointless cybercrime in action presented itself. … Continue reading