encryption

Quantum computers could produce genuinely random numbers according to new research. It could boost security, an ironic effect given fears over the ways cyber criminals could use quantum computing. In extremely simplified terms, a quantum computer ... uses quantum physics in which something can exist in more than one state at a time. That's in contrast to traditional computing where data is stored in bits that represent either a 0 or a 1 at any given time. To date, the main claimed advantage of quantum computing has been processing speed. The same "bit" representing multiple states removes a ... (view more)

A theory involving donuts has helped crack a proposed government security algorithm. It's nothing to do with distracting security guards, Better Call Saul-style, but rather advanced mathematics. Government agencies and others involved in security ... are constantly looking for new ways to encrypt data, with quantum computing seen as a potentially major threat. Most encryption methods used at the moment rely on length and complexity to deter brute force cracking techniques that simply try every possible decryption key. The idea is that it should take so many tries (on average) to get the right ... (view more)

Facebook and Instagram will not strengthen the encryption on their messaging until 2023, a year later than planned. The delay has been linked to complaints that the encryption could help abusers of children. At the moment, both service messages are ... encrypted between the sender and the company's servers and then from the company's servers to the recipient. That means anyone who intercepts the message in transit can't practically read it, but the company itself can. Although the companies say they do not access the messages normally, they may do so in response to a court order, law enforcement ... (view more)

Google has developed a new type of encryption that could run on any Android device. It means added security even for the most basic phones, smart watches and smart TVs. The encryption in question isn't for transmitting data, but rather for data ... stored on a device. The data is controlled by unlock methods such as passwords, pin codes and fingerprints. The idea is that if somebody gets hold of a device and doesn't have the correct login credentials, they can't simply extract files from the device and access personal data. At the moment Android devices with encryption use Advanced Encryption ... (view more)

A messaging service owned by Facebook is purposely limiting the amount of times users can forward a message. It's an attempt to slow the spread of false information. The change to WhatsApp follows a six month trial in India sparked off by several ... cases where bogus stories led to lynch mobs. WhatsApp lets users send text messages, video, images and documents. One of its core functions is a group system that lets a set of friends, family members, work colleagues or people with a share interest send a single message that reaches everyone in the group. The maximum group size is 256. One Message ... (view more)

Question site "Quora" has become the latest high-profile hacking victim, with details of more than 100 million users breached. Fortunately, the implications likely won't be as serious as some previous hacks. The site lets users post questions and ... then get answers from other users. A voting system means more helpful answers from its community means the best answers float to the top. Quora says its systems were accessed without authorization and that it discovered the breach on November 30, 2018. It says the exposed information included account information such as name, email address ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently upgraded my OpenVPN from version 2.3.2 (back in 2014) to the latest version 2.4.6, but now my OpenVPN server is broken. I checked the log files and it says ' SSL ... routines:SSL_CTX_use_certificate:ca md too weak ', followed by 'Cannot load certificate file /path/cert.crt'. I have tried embedding my certificates inside the server.ovpn file (rather than having it point somewhere externally), but that does not help. It simply won't load the certificate. I've researched this issue for days and keep coming across a forum post on the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Tom G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am trying to send encrypted email to a friend using MS Outlook . To do so, I purchased a digital certificate from Comodo, then imported the certificate into Outlook. I could send my friend digitally ... signed messages which he could read and reply to. He could send me digitally signed and encrypted messages, which I could read and reply to. However, I could not generate an encrypted message; I could only reply to his. I could not create an encrypted message from scratch. When attempting to initiate an encrypted message, I was told ' Microsoft ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Martin R. writes: " The email newsletter I receive from you is showing in my gmail as "unencrypted," with a red pad lock . There is also a new warning banner that says: 'Be careful with this message. It contains content that's ... typically used to steal personal information.' The options are: learn more, report this suspicious message, ignore, or 'I trust this message.' This is not the only email I get that shows as unencrypted. What does this mean and how can it be fixed? " My response: Essentially it means that the mail you received (at gmail) was not sent using email ... (view more)

Facebook is to let users send messages which cannot be read by anyone other than the recipient. It's also continuing to work on a feature that allows users to send temporary messages which self-destruct. The new feature is referred to as end-to-end ... encryption . That means it's set up in a way that, even if the message is intercepted, it can't be read by anyone other than the recipient. This is done by maintaining the encryption from the sending device to the receiving device, regardless of the route it takes across the Internet. Secure Shell (SSH) , which is commonly used to connect a ... (view more)