Portside

Conservative Confusion; Social Media's Long March; They Got Algorithm; How to Hack an Election; The Macedonian Connection; Bye, Voice

Russia isn't as strong as we think, but they do have nukes – which is why beating the war drum is a mistake

Computer scientists can prove certain programs to be error-free with the same certainty that mathematicians prove theorems. The advances are being used to secure everything from unmanned drones to the internet. However, they're not claiming they are going to prove an entire system is correct, 100 percent reliable in every bit, down to the circuit level. "That’s ridiculous to make those claims."

Sony and the hackers captured the year-end news cycle for over a month, unveiling a treasure trove of emails exposing stark flashes of the hidden underbelly of Hollywood. Certain "racist" emails of Sony executive Amy Pascal were made public. The hackers are unknown, yet the media was initially more than ready to accept the initial government claims.

Reuters' report suggests that RSA wasn't merely following the trends when it picked the algorithm and that contrary to its previous claims, the company has inserted presumed backdoors at the behest of the spy agency.

Hail & Farewell Andre Schiffrin; Silicon Valley Warping San Francisco; Oakland Building Big Brother; Ebooks Challenge Academic Presses; NSA Drops 50,000 `Sleeper Cells' in Computer Networks Worldwide; New Site to Seek Funding from the Masses for Investigating Reporting

The idea that America is in the middle of a “cyber war” isn't just lazy and wrong. It's dangerous. The war analogy implies the requirement for military response to cyber intrusions. America genuinely needs effective civilian government cyber defense organizations with strong relationships with the private sector and the active engagement of an informed general public. Creating and even promoting the fear of “cyber war” makes that more difficult.