Erik L. Arneson — Writer and Software DeveloperErik L. Arneson is a freelance writer and software developer with WordPress experience. He is located in Portland, Oregon.Jekyll2026-06-18T15:03:10+00:00https://arnesonium.com/feeds/silk-road.xmlErik L. ArnesonSecurity Link Rodeo: Silk Road, the Patriot Act, Alan Turing, and Your PasswordsErik L. Arneson2015-06-05T17:33:25+00:00https://arnesonium.com/2015/06/security-link-rodeo-silk-road-patriot-act<p>The man behind the <strong>Silk Road</strong>, Ross Ulbricht, <a href="http://nypost.com/2015/05/29/silk-road-mastermind-gets-life-in-prison/" target="_blank">received a life sentence</a> after being convicted of money laundering and drug trafficking. It’s estimated that he made around $18 million on the website, which ran as <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2425184,00.asp" target="_blank">a hidden service in the Tor network</a>. Some of the operators for the Silk Road argue that it was <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2015/0529/Silk-Road-mastermind-drug-kingpin-or-libertarian-ideologue-gone-astray" target="_blank">a haven for libertarian philosophy</a>, but does that really excuse the amount of damage they enabled? The Economist notes that since the Silk Road fell, <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/05/daily-chart-13?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/ed/silkroadsuccessors" target="_blank">illegal drug sales on the Internet have doubled</a>.
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<p>Security Intelligence discusses the <a href="http://securityintelligence.com/news/effectiveness-of-security-questions-called-out-in-new-study" target="_blank">effectiveness of <strong>password security questions</strong></a>, pointing out that they are particularly weak points in a system. Two-factor authentication or some kind of physical key are definitely better. And when it comes to passwords, there’s a better way that <a href="http://blog.webernetz.net/2013/07/30/password-strengthentropy-characters-vs-words/" target="_blank">produces easy-to-remember <strong>pass phrases</strong></a>!</p>
<p>Bitstamp, an online <strong>Bitcoin</strong> marketplace and wallet, <a href="https://www.bitstamp.net/article/bitstamp-new-usd-eur-gbp-denominated-debit-card/" target="_blank">now offers debit cards</a>. I’ve used Bitstamp many times in the past and it’s always worked well for me.</p>
<p>Section 215 of the <strong>Patriot Act</strong> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2015/06/01/section-215-of-the-patriot-act-is-temporarily-down-so-who-you-gonna-call/" target="_blank">finally expired</a>! Not willing to really <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/05/dont-worry-government-still-has-plenty-surveillance-power-if-section-215-sunsets" target="_blank">stop bulk surveillance</a>, Congress then <a href="http://sputniknews.com/us/20150602/1022870319.html" target="_blank">pushed through the <strong>USA Freedom Act</strong></a>, which has nothing to do with freedom. Find out how long your mobile phone carrier will retain your call data <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/05/22/how-long-cellphone-companies-store-your-call-records" target="_blank">in this handy chart</a>. Demand Progress rightfully <a href="https://demandprogress.org/demand-progress-decries-passage-of-usa-freedom-act/" target="_blank">foamed at the mouth</a>.</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/demandprogress/status/605849691675189248</p>
<p><strong>Phil Zimmerman</strong> is still <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/25/philip-zimmermann-king-encryption-reveals-fears-privacy" target="_blank">not happy with the state of privacy in the United States</a>. He’s right to be concerned.</p>
<p><a href="http://tm.durusau.net/?p=62491" target="_blank">Two more papers are available</a> from <strong>Alan Turing</strong>, the father of modern computing and an important cryptologist.</p>
<p>Finally, the UK Government has <a href="https://insights.ubuntu.com/2015/03/17/uk-government-issues-ubuntu-14-04-lts-security-guidance/" target="_blank">documented security guidance</a> for <strong>Ubuntu</strong>. Read the document. It has a lot of really good suggestions for securing your Linux machines.</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/OUHOSCollection/status/603588936020131843</p>