Journalist Molly Worthen wrote an interesting piece for the New York Times headlined How to escape from Roy Moore’s evangelicalism. She makes an interesting point about ritual and its effect on the human psyche, on my mind and yours. The habits we follow every day shape us as much as, or more than Sunday worship, even for those of us who turn… Read more →
Yubico FIDO U2F key quick review
A few days ago I ordered some Yubico FIDO U2F security keys, after reading that they are a useful way to help secure various online accounts and keep intruders out. These cost US$18 each, either singly or in 50-unit bulk packaging. They arrived, packaged inconspicously, promptly after I placed my order. They’re cheap enough that they can be used for… Read more →
Strict liability for leaks of secrets
Can we learn anything from the past few years of leaked secrets? Sure, we can learn that some big-shot executives and elected officials are lazy and feckless. We can learn that software is brittle and needs diligent patching. We can learn that a determined person trying to exfiltrate data has a HUGE advantage over the people trying to protect it.… Read more →
Should I encrypt columns in my web application’s database?
Somebody asked whether it’s a good idea to encrypt database columns in a web application. My answer: “It probably won’t help much.” Why? Figure out your threat model Best practice: figure out your threat model before you spend time and money securing your system. If you build complex security measures without a clear idea of your threat model, you’ll trick… Read more →
Sample letter to state legislator about regulating credit bureaus.
Here’s the letter I sent by email to our local State Senator after the Equifax data breach. You are free to adapt it any way you want and send it to whomever you want. OpenStates.org offers a service helping you identify your legislators. Dear Sen. O’Connor-Ives: The recent screwup at the Equifax credit bureau may not be as newsworthy as… Read more →
Cybercrooks stole my data from Equifax! What now? Credit freezes.
On September 7th, 2017, the credit bureau Equifax announced that cybercriminals broke in to its company servers sometime in mid-May 2017 and stole copies of information like Social Security Numbers, driver’s license numbers, birth dates, and home addresses for as many as 143 million residents of the US. The total population is about 329 million, counting children, so there’s a… Read more →
Social media and René Girard’s memetics
OK, among people who’ve heard of anthropologist turned radical theologian Dr. Girard, I’m probably the last guy to realize this. But the big social media outfits (FB, Twitter, Instagram, the usual suspects) make their money by exploiting the “I’ll have what he’s having” streak in human nature. The old joke: Russian waiter: What would you like, sir? Diner: Tilting his… Read more →
Time Zones in MySQL
Suppose you’re working on a web application to support users in multiple time zones. How do you handle dates and times? If your users all live in one time zone, it’s easy. Simply store important date and time data in DATETIME or TIMESTAMP columns, and be done with it. But, what application has users in just one time zone? Maybe a municipal… Read more →
Taiz, Yemen, April – May 1967
In the winter and spring of 1967, a half-century ago, my father Ellis O. Jones of blessed memory, then 39 years old, served as a United States Foreign Service Officer in Taiz, Yemen. Taiz is in the southern part of that country, on the road from the port of Mocha to the present capital of Sana’a. When Dad went to… Read more →
University students: beware the people who lend you money!
Bloomberg News published an article today putting the lie to Navient’s claim to helping manage student debt. In a court filing, the company (which used to be part of the Sallie Mae US federal student lending agency) said it was a conflict of interest to help students. Their primary role is collecting on loans. Dear students: Companies and governments who… Read more →