Month: December 2015

The MYK-78 "Clipper" chip, the 1990's version of the "golden key."

In the face of a Federal Bureau of Investigation proposal requesting backdoors into encrypted communications, a noted encryption expert urged Congress not to adopt the requirements due to technical faults in the plan. The shortcomings in question would allow anyone to easily defeat the measure with little technical effort.

Please note, the testimony referenced above was delivered on May 11, 1993. However, that doesn't change its applicability today. In fact, current pressure being applied by law enforcement and intelligence officials over end-to-end encrypted communications appears eerily reminiscent of a similar battle nearly 25 years ago.

Last week, FBI Director James Comey again pushed forward arguments for law enforcement "backdoors" into encrypted communication applications. Comey claimed that the gunmen who attempted to attack a Texas anti-Muslim cartoon event used encrypted communications several times on the day of the attack to contact an overseas individual tied to terrorism. The revelation is part of a renewed lobbying effort to get technology providers to provide what Comey once described as a "golden key" to access encrypted communications. Though the FBI director reluctantly dropped his lobbying efforts for such a backdoor this summer, the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino have raised the issue again. Even President Obama recently asked for technology companies to help give the government access to communications over messaging applications and social media.

"From the director of Fast & Furious" are not words that I want to see in any Star Trek trailer.

Star Trek is a science fiction series. It is at its best when it is exploring the implications of its science. Yes, we want action and adventure, too, but there should be a context: exploration, the conflict between different cultures, the dangers of the (mis)use of technology. The TV series has always been better at this than the films, and perhaps it's understandable that the film would have different priorities in a bid for mass market appeal (though the recent success of the very sci-fi The Martian suggests that there is a healthy appetite for this kind of thing after all). Still, the new trailer looks long on punching, short on thinking.

Trailers can, of course, be completely misleading. I was suckered by the first Terminator Genisys trailer—the good trailer, the one that made the film look like it was going to be an exciting riff on the story we've seen before, not the second spoiler-laden trailer that showed what should have been a major reveal before we even stepped foot in the cinema. So maybe Star Trek Beyond will turn out to be good, but oh boy, the new trailer does not inspire confidence. Star Trek Into Darkness was the worst kind of lazy fan-service, totally squandering the promise of the reboot, but at least it was recognizable as Trek. Based on this glimpse Star Trek Beyond isn't, and it looks like it's going to plumb new depths.

Yahoo investors are saying they're fed up with corporate vacillation and excessive spending. (credit: Photograph by Randy Stewart)

In recent days, Yahoo investors have been calling for a new plan and new leadership to restore the value of the company. Some argue for Yahoo to sell its core businesses as quickly as possible. Others are trying to build support to oust CEO Marissa Mayer and trim the company’s costs to absolute bare bones. All the while, Yahoo seemed ready to spin off the company's Alibaba holdings into a separate company.

But last week, Yahoo announced that it would reverse course. Instead of spinning off Alibaba, the board of directors said Yahoo would now work to spin off Yahoo’s core businesses, keeping the original company as a holding entity for the Alibaba shares. The company explained the tax climate for spinning off Alibaba holdings was simply unfavorable for investors. Mayer also noted the move would give more “transparency” to the operations of Yahoo’s core businesses, and analysts believed that implied Yahoo would be selling itself off bit by bit.

All this, however, has failed to make investors happy. The Wall Street Journal reported this weekend that Canyon Capital Advisors, an investment firm which owns 10 million shares (about 1.1 percent of Yahoo), is calling for Yahoo to begin selling all or parts of its core businesses immediately. Canyon Capital's strongly worded letter to fellow investors proclaimed that waiting another year to break Yahoo up from its Alibaba holdings is unacceptable. The investor wrote that Yahoo needs to start selling parts of its business off now or risk a further decline in the worth of the company.

(credit: Microdrones Gmbh)

The US Department of Transportation has launched a "streamlined and user-friendly" online registration process for aerial drones, starting today. New regulations announced in October require all drone owners to register.

In the view of the Federal Aviation Administration, drones or "unmanned aircraft systems" (UAS) qualify as aircraft, even if operated by hobbyists, and will be regulated as such. The registration website has been launched and includes frequently asked questions about the process. Actual online registrations won't begin until next Monday, December 21. For anyone registering in the first month, the $5 aircraft registration fee will be refunded.

Registration is legally required by February 19, 2016. The rule applies retroactively, so even someone who operated an unmanned aircraft prior to December 21 must register by the deadline. Anyone purchasing a drone after December 21 must register before the first outdoor flight.