Cryptosmith

A reader pointed me to an apparently dull collection of NSA documents recently posted by that useful source, GovernmentAttic.org. One of the hidden gems is a “CMI Newsletter” containing a eight pages of crypto puzzles.

I’ve taken the liberty of posting the CMI Newsletter separately (PDF, click this link), but kudos go to GovernmentAttic for dredging up this diamond in the rough. If you work out answers, feel free to post them here, or at least provide a pingback so interested people can find them.

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OK, I’ve calmed down and looked at recent news reports. First, I’m relieved to see that the Obama administration is not in fact behind this nonsense – it’s a cadre of clueless US Senators. Second, the Administration is not supporting this nonsense.

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ARE THEY KIDDING ME? DON’T THEY HAVE ANY REMOTELY INTELLIGENT ADVISORS IN THE WHITE HOUSE THESE DAYS? I THOUGHT PRESIDENT OBAMA WAS TECH SAVVY!

Okay, I got that off my chest. [see later post]

For those who came late to the party, here’s how to think of the “Internet Kill Switch.” Substitute “Internet” for any of these:

• National highway system
• National airspace
• Nationwide broadcast system
• Starbucks

You can’t have an “Internet Kill Switch” for the same reason you can’t have a “Starbucks Kill Switch.” The things being controlled are thoroughly distributed and they operate independently.

Yes, the President can always declare a “Starbucks Emergency” and demand shutdown of all Starbucks (and Caribou and Dunn Brothers and other caffiene chains, to be fair). But there’s no real control over such things. Someone won’t get the word, or they’ll ignore it.

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Tam Harbert has posted a fairly even-handed discussion of employee monitoring in Computerworld. This is a difficult topic to address, since it treads on the fine line between employee privacy and a company’s obligation to ensure efficient use of their resources. When Secure Computing bought Webster Webtrack, a web filtering product, back in the 1990s, the developers said that they’d see drops of 70% in web traffic when users knew they were being monitored.

It’s a well known fact – people are more likely to behave if they think they’re being watched. And it’s easy to waste time surfing the web.

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