System Bits: March 29


Cryptographic system for controlling app access to data Researchers at MIT and Harvard University are hoping to change the fact that users of smartphones have no idea which data items their apps are collecting, where they’re stored, and if they’re stored securely with an application they’ve developed called Sieve. With Sieve, a Web user would store all personal data, in encrypted form... » read more

When Cryptographers Disagree


Six of the world's leading cryptography experts sat down this week to explore the most pressing issues in security. They took up topics ranging from whether Apple should facilitate the FBI's access to a known terrorist's iPhone, to what will become the next important cryptography algorithm. Among them: Ronald Rivest, an Institute Professor at MIT; Adi Shamir, co-inventor of the RSA algorithm... » read more

What Is Cyberwarfare?


Cyberwarfare is emerging as the most sophisticated battleground of the 21st century. In fact, the military in all major countries make it a priority. Collectively they are spending tens of billions of dollars on education and building a knowledgebase of how attacks can be perpetrated and what defenses are needed. The entire effort is based on technology, both legacy and new, starting on the ... » read more

Executive Insight: Paul Kocher


Paul Kocher, president and chief scientist of Rambus' Cryptography Research Division, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about the state of security today and how it will be affected as more devices are connected. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: The number of vulnerabilities is increasing. Are we making progress? Kocher: If your metric for progress is the... » read more

New IP Risks


The world is being flooded with Internet-enabled devices, from smart toothbrushes to smart appliances to smart aircraft, and everything in between. Some of this is expected to be connected to the Internet, and some has been for quite some time. But devices such as smart toothbrushes and smart socks pose a whole new challenge. The issue is that even low-end chips need some sort of IP, but if ... » read more

The Secret World Of Ciphers


The arena of creating secure environments in the hardware and software industries is somewhat shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding. Certainly, some types of ciphers are relatively straightforward and uncomplicated. For example, there is one called the Caesar cipher, which is one of the most prolific, and simple encryption techniques. Basically, this is simply aligning two alphabets and s... » read more

The Week In Review: Design/IoT


IP Synopsys rolled out logic library and embedded memory IP for the Mie Fujitsu 40nm low-power process. The process has 50% lower power consumption compared with previous process technologies. Deals Rambus' Cryptography Research Division won a deal to run the Secure Content Storage Association's cryptographic key management center. The keys are used in SCSA-enabled devices for securing vid... » read more

Lightweight Cryptography For The IoE


This is the age where technology is expected to do more, faster, anonymously, and often invisibly. And it's supposed to use less power, with smaller footprints, unobtrusively and intuitively. And all that needs to be protected with cryptography. That's the goal, at least. But as Simon Blake-Wilson, vice president of products and marketing for [getentity id="22671" e_name="Rambus"]' Cryptogra... » read more

Smartphones Show Their Weaknesses


According to researchers at the University of Michigan, a weakness believed to exist in Android, Windows and iOS operating systems could be used to obtain personal information from unsuspecting users. This hack was demonstrated in an Android phone and was successful between 82 and 92% of the time on six of seven popular apps that were tested. Gmail, CHASE Bank and H&R Block were among those ... » read more

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