Tag Archives: encryption

Windows 11’s most important new feature is post-quantum cryptography. Here’s why.

Microsoft is updating Windows 11 with a set of new encryption algorithms that can withstand future attacks from quantum computers in a move aimed at jump-starting what’s likely to be the most formidable and important technology transition in modern history. Computers that are based on the physics of quantum mechanics don’t yet exist outside of… Read More »

DeepSeek iOS app sends data unencrypted to ByteDance-controlled servers

Thomas Reed, staff product manager for Mac endpoint detection and response at security firm Huntress, and an expert in iOS security, said he found NowSecure’s findings concerning. “ATS being disabled is generally a bad idea,” he wrote in an online interview. “That essentially allows the app to communicate via insecure protocols, like HTTP. Apple does… Read More »

The sad, bizarre tale of hype fanning fears modern cryptography was slain

PRESENT, GIFT64, and RECTANGLE: All three are lightweight block ciphers designed for use in “constrained” environments, such as those in embedded systems that require more speed and fewer computational resources than is possible using AES. All three are based on an SPN structure and are proposed academic designs. The related GIFT-128 is a component of… Read More »

As quantum computing threats loom, Microsoft updates its core crypto library

Getty Images reader comments 11 Microsoft has updated a key cryptographic library with two new encryption algorithms designed to withstand attacks from quantum computers. The updates were made last week to SymCrypt, a core cryptographic code library for handing cryptographic functions in Windows and Linux. The library, started in 2006, provides operations and algorithms developers… Read More »

YubiKeys are vulnerable to cloning attacks thanks to newly discovered side channel

reader comments 118 The YubiKey 5, the most widely used hardware token for two-factor authentication based on the FIDO standard, contains a cryptographic flaw that makes the finger-size device vulnerable to cloning when an attacker gains temporary physical access to it, researchers said Tuesday. The cryptographic flaw, known as a side channel, resides in a… Read More »

512-bit RSA key in home energy system gives control of “virtual power plant”

reader comments 78 When Ryan Castellucci recently acquired solar panels and a battery storage system for their home just outside of London, they were drawn to the ability to use an open source dashboard to monitor and control the flow of electricity being generated. Instead, they gained much, much more—some 200 megawatts of programmable capacity… Read More »

Proton is taking its privacy-first apps to a nonprofit foundation model

Getty Images reader comments 53 Proton, the secure-minded email and productivity suite, is becoming a nonprofit foundation, but it doesn’t want you to think about it in the way you think about other notable privacy and web foundations. “We believe that if we want to bring about large-scale change, Proton can’t be billionaire-subsidized (like Signal),… Read More »

Newly discovered ransomware uses BitLocker to encrypt victim data

reader comments 36 A previously unknown piece of ransomware, dubbed ShrinkLocker, encrypts victim data using the BitLocker feature built into the Windows operating system. BitLocker is a full-volume encryptor that debuted in 2007 with the release of Windows Vista. Users employ it to encrypt entire hard drives to prevent people from reading or modifying data… Read More »