3 ms·

If you read the headlines enough, you'll notice the U.S. govt is doing the exact opposite of developing secure systems by forcing corporations to weaken their s

If you read the headlines enough, you'll notice the U.S. govt is doing the exact opposite of developing secure systems by forcing corporations to weaken their security.

avs733 11y ago
I think the commenter was generally referring to developing secure systems for themselves. The NSA 'owns' at least one semiconductor fab[1] in Texas, and used to (or still does) own another secure CMOS facility in Santa Clara [2]. Add in several facilities owned by defense contractors as well as the facilities at places such as Lincoln Lab. When you have the ability to develop and build your own secure technology, it would seem perfectly 'logical' to force others to use lesser, less secure hardware. [1] http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/NSA-plant-in-San-Antonio-shrouded-in-secrecy-4604109.php http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/NSA-... [2] http://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/print/volume-9/issue-12/departments/cots-watch/nsa-seeking-new-business-for-in-house-cmos-wafer-fab.html http://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/print/volume-9/iss...
- hellbanner 11y ago
  End of [1]: "The NSA issued a statement acknowledging that an antenna it was using interfered with garage door openers." I didn't know antennaes could interfere with transmission.?
  - avs733 11y ago
    I would imagine it was what was coming out of the antenna... Just another one of those fantastic science/technology/journalistic chain phone calls that result in nonsense being communicated to the public.
- nickpsecurity 11y ago
  Yes. Sandia and others have certified fabs for developing classified stuff. The NSA has their own developments called Government Off The Shelf (GOTS) tools. They also contract out developments from defense contractors through certifications like their Type 1 process. They keep the best stuff for themselves and defense contractors. Here's an interesting example I copied in a design at one point: https://www.nsa.gov/ia/programs/inline_media_encryptor/index.shtml https://www.nsa.gov/ia/programs/inline_media_encryptor/index... Compare that to the average tool for disk encryption. I bet the commercial one leaves off some requirements or countermeasures. ;)
duaneb 11y ago
They do both. One is worrying, the other is reassuring; clickbait rules dictate the former gets the headline.

If you read the headlines enough, you'll notice the U.S. govt is doing the exact opposite of developing secure systems by forcing corporations to weaken their security.

avs733 11y ago

I think the commenter was generally referring to developing secure systems for themselves. The NSA 'owns' at least one semiconductor fab[1] in Texas, and used to (or still does) own another secure CMOS facility in Santa Clara [2]. Add in several facilities owned by defense contractors as well as the facilities at places such as Lincoln Lab. When you have the ability to develop and build your own secure technology, it would seem perfectly 'logical' to force others to use lesser, less secure hardware. [1] http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/NSA-plant-in-San-Antonio-shrouded-in-secrecy-4604109.php http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/NSA-... [2] http://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/print/volume-9/issue-12/departments/cots-watch/nsa-seeking-new-business-for-in-house-cmos-wafer-fab.html http://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/print/volume-9/iss...

hellbanner 11y ago
End of [1]: "The NSA issued a statement acknowledging that an antenna it was using interfered with garage door openers." I didn't know antennaes could interfere with transmission.?
- avs733 11y ago
  I would imagine it was what was coming out of the antenna... Just another one of those fantastic science/technology/journalistic chain phone calls that result in nonsense being communicated to the public.
nickpsecurity 11y ago
Yes. Sandia and others have certified fabs for developing classified stuff. The NSA has their own developments called Government Off The Shelf (GOTS) tools. They also contract out developments from defense contractors through certifications like their Type 1 process. They keep the best stuff for themselves and defense contractors. Here's an interesting example I copied in a design at one point: https://www.nsa.gov/ia/programs/inline_media_encryptor/index.shtml https://www.nsa.gov/ia/programs/inline_media_encryptor/index... Compare that to the average tool for disk encryption. I bet the commercial one leaves off some requirements or countermeasures. ;)

duaneb 11y ago

They do both. One is worrying, the other is reassuring; clickbait rules dictate the former gets the headline.