The hottest Security Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top U.S. Politics Topics

What makes a security product "good"?

Frankly Speaking • 305 implied HN points • 23 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Security
  1. A good security product isn't about having a lot of features. It's more important that it provides real value and helps people work efficiently.
  2. Security tools should help fill gaps in a team's capabilities rather than just adding more complexity. Sometimes a 'good enough' solution is better than a perfect one.
  3. The focus should shift from just ranking products to understanding what really helps customers. A good product makes life easier and solves the right problems.

Why TSA-style security doesn't work for schools

School Shooting Data Analysis and Reports • 39 implied HN points • 30 Apr 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Security
  1. Having teachers perform security screenings at schools can be ineffective due to lack of training and time constraints.
  2. Failure in school security protocols can lead to dangerous situations such as students sneaking weapons past metal detectors.
  3. Implementing TSA-style security at schools is impractical due to the scale of students, cost, and physical infrastructure required.

FBI And Secret Service Are Covering Up Their Role In Alleged January 6 “Pipe Bomb” Plot, New Evidence Suggests

Public • 673 implied HN points • 20 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Security
  1. New evidence suggests FBI and Secret Service may be covering up their role in the alleged January 6 'Pipe Bomb' plot.
  2. Video footage raises questions about the mishandling and seriousness of investigations by multiple agencies.
  3. Former FBI agents and analysts have raised doubts about the true nature of the pipe bombs and the authenticity of the investigation.

All the Microsoft Ninja Training I Know About

Rod’s Blog • 218 implied HN points • 05 Jan 23
🕹 Technology Security
  1. There's a significant interest in Microsoft security certifications, and there are excellent 'Ninja' training resources by Microsoft product teams available for those seeking certifications.
  2. The 'Ninja' trainings cover a range of Microsoft Defender products, Sentinel, compliance tools, and more, providing valuable knowledge and skills for professionals in the security domain.
  3. The term 'Ninja' in the trainings comes from the creator's daughter's cat, not necessarily the traditional ninja-samurai symbolism.

Doing Battle with Piers

John’s Substack • 7 implied HN points • 21 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. A televised debate covered many hot foreign policy issues, including how radical Trump's foreign policy is, a kidnapping in Venezuela and its likely consequences, talk of annexing Greenland, a failed attempt at regime change in Iran, and allegations about Israel's actions in Gaza.
  2. The show's host later fell, broke his leg, and required a hip replacement, and he is wished a speedy recovery with plans to return to the program.
  3. There have been other high-profile, heated exchanges with public figures like Roger Waters, highlighting a pattern of confrontational interviews.
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DeFi Education Core Principles

DeFi Education • 639 implied HN points • 04 Aug 22
🔮 Crypto Security
  1. DeFi projects should focus on long-term growth and sustainability, moving away from relying solely on token incentives. It's important for apps to build a future without depending on constant rewards.
  2. User-friendliness is key. DeFi projects should create easy-to-use interfaces that average people can navigate, not just designed for tech experts.
  3. Strong technical quality matters. Experienced developers are essential for creating secure and reliable software, and protocols should regularly invest in improving their systems.

The Impact of AI on Politics: A Critical Analysis

Rod’s Blog • 79 implied HN points • 08 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Security
  1. AI offers opportunities like improving efficiency and transparency in politics, but it also poses challenges like privacy threats and misinformation risks.
  2. In a hypothetical scenario of the 2024 US election, AI could play a significant role from designing campaign strategies to counting votes.
  3. Combatting political disinformation requires critical thinking, diversity in sources, responsible sharing, and education on the issue.

Talking with Glenn Greenwald

John’s Substack • 6 implied HN points • 25 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. The administration is portrayed as willing to directly interfere in Venezuela, including backing plans to kidnap or seize its leader and effectively run the country.
  2. Invoking the Monroe Doctrine is being used to justify intervention, but this is a distorted reading that ignores the doctrine's historical limits.
  3. Such aggressive policies risk violating international norms, destabilizing the region, and undermining long-term U.S. credibility and security.

Farming Risks, Fees and Crypto Information Sources

DeFi Education • 1298 implied HN points • 11 Jul 21
🔮 Crypto Security
  1. There are major risks in DeFi farming like smart contract failures and rug pulls. It's important to be aware of these risks before investing.
  2. Fees can add up quickly when using DeFi projects, so timing your transactions wisely can help save money.
  3. Finding reliable data about DeFi projects is hard, and many sources might not give accurate information. It's crucial to do your own research before investing.

The Infanticide That Won't End

The Weekly Dish • 101 implied HN points • 06 Jun 25
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. The ongoing conflict in Gaza is causing harm to both sides involved. It seems like a never-ending cycle of violence.
  2. Many believe that escalating the war will have negative consequences for Israel in the long run. It might lead to more suffering and less security.
  3. It's important to find a peaceful solution instead of continuing the fight. Stopping the violence could help create a better future for everyone.

What if the US seizes Greenland?

Optimally Irrational • 6 implied HN points • 20 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. Seizing Greenland by force would be a massive political and geopolitical blunder. It would gain little but risk damaging America’s alliances and long-term influence.
  2. International relations aren’t just a Hobbesian free-for-all; states sustain cooperation through norms and repeated interaction because it’s mutually beneficial. Breaking those conventions would undermine the rule-based order that helps preserve U.S. power.
  3. Even if a takeover were politically possible at home, the international costs and backlash would be severe and short-sighted, making the move strategically counterproductive.

JJM on Venezuela

John’s Substack • 10 implied HN points • 04 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. A roundtable on Venezuela will be held at the Quincy Institute on January 6 from 2–3 pm EST.
  2. The panel is titled Interventionism on Steroids – The Trump Takeover of Venezuela, signaling a focus on U.S. intervention and Trump’s role in the crisis.
  3. A registration link is provided to watch the event, and the speaker will also appear on several podcasts that week to discuss events in Venezuela.

Fourth Industrial Revolution and End of Empire

Who is Robert Malone • 15 implied HN points • 13 Dec 25
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. Advances in AI and computing could make human labor economically irrelevant, with growth driven by computational capacity and the owners of that compute gaining outsized power.
  2. The internet and social platforms are fracturing culture into echo chambers and digital tribes, creating communication breakdowns and fragmented realities like a modern Tower of Babel.
  3. Large-scale migration combined with mismanagement, corruption, or excessive empathy can destabilize societies, turning displacement into internal collapse rather than an external invasion.

Trying to Comprehend Trump's FP

John’s Substack • 6 implied HN points • 23 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. On January 22, 2026, a conversation on "Judging Freedom" focused on events at Davos and in Greenland.
  2. That conversation introduced key elements of a template for understanding Trump's foreign policy.
  3. The template is meant to help make sense of Trump's actions on the world stage by applying it to events like Davos and Greenland.

NATO Was Inside All of Us the Whole Time

I Might Be Wrong • 6 implied HN points • 22 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. NATO’s core promise of mutual defense is effectively dead because current U.S. leadership is unlikely to honor Article 5, leaving the alliance as a coordination club without real enforcement.
  2. International agreements only work when parties care about credibility and are willing to enforce commitments, so when a major player abandons those norms the rules become optional and lose power.
  3. Allies are already adjusting to that reality and NATO could be rebuilt under different leadership, so the pragmatic response is to accept the break and begin planning new or renewed security arrangements.

Tech Talks Weekly #8 ☀️ ☀️ ☀️

Tech Talks Weekly • 59 implied HN points • 29 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Security
  1. This issue highlights exciting new tech talks from major conferences like NDC Security and GOTO. It's a great way to learn about current trends in technology.
  2. There is a focus on security, with talks discussing topics like passkeys and the future of cookies. These topics are important for anyone interested in cybersecurity.
  3. The newsletter encourages sharing it with friends and colleagues to build a community around tech talks. Also, there's a form available for people to share their interests to improve content.

Notes on the News

The Cosmopolitan Globalist • 14 implied HN points • 10 Dec 25
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. The EU is not a single sovereign state and can’t force unanimous foreign-policy decisions, so individual members and outside ties (like Hungary’s links to China) routinely block collective action.
  2. Pressuring China and India with secondary sanctions would be a form of financial warfare that would spark trade and payment-system splits, wreck key European export sectors, and Europe lacks the currency, insurance, and unified backing to survive that shock.
  3. A coordinated authoritarian project at home is weakening U.S. alliances and institutions, and broad social problems—poor education, rising inequality, and voter apathy—make the public more vulnerable to manipulation and democratic backsliding.

The Transition from Monolithic SIEMs to Data Lakes for Security Monitoring

Detection at Scale • 139 implied HN points • 23 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Security
  1. Transitioning from monolithic SIEMs to data lakes for security monitoring involves decoupled data architecture, cloud storage, open data formats, and distributed query engines for improved performance, scalability, and pricing models.
  2. Usability tradeoffs exist when shifting to data lakes, with a need for detection engineers specializing in tool accuracy and performance, while security analysts require tools for exhaustive answers and simplistic searches.
  3. The data pipeline in a transition involves components like data routing, transformation, storage, query engines, metadata, and real-time analysis, each playing a unique role in pulling, transforming, and analyzing security data in a data lake environment.

Fuzzing Ladybird with tools from Google Project Zero

awesomekling • 522 HN points • 16 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Security
  1. Using tools like Domato from Google Project Zero can stress test software and reveal potential security issues.
  2. Implementations in software can be prone to issues like null pointer dereferences, especially when assumptions about the DOM structure are not validated.
  3. Finding and fixing bugs, whether real bugs or spec bugs, is essential to improving software stability and ensuring it can handle unexpected inputs.

Stuff I still don’t get about AI

Samstack • 999 implied HN points • 15 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Security
  1. It's important for more people to understand AI risks for safety regulations and investment in alignment work.
  2. Consider the balance between AI getting out of control versus malicious actors having access to superintelligent AI.
  3. Think about the potential impacts of advanced AI on various aspects of human life in the future.

Vietnam's Massive Reclamation in the Spratly Islands

Pekingnology • 83 implied HN points • 01 Jul 25
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. Vietnam is rapidly expanding its territory in the Spratly Islands by reclaiming land. Since late 2021, they've increased their land area by over 8.5 square kilometers through large-scale reclamation projects.
  2. Alongside land reclamation, Vietnam is building military facilities like harbors and runways. This will help improve their military presence in the South China Sea and allows for better defense and operations.
  3. Recent actions by Vietnam are attracting international attention. Countries like the US and various think tanks are starting to notice and criticize Vietnam's aggressive island-building, which could affect peace in the region.

Leaked details of new collaboration between U.S. and Australian intelligence, by way of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt

All-Source Intelligence Fusion • 630 implied HN points • 04 Dec 23
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. Leaked details reveal collaboration between U.S. and Australian intelligence officials and tech industry executives.
  2. The workshop focused on 'human-machine teaming' for AI policy in defense and intelligence sectors.
  3. The event involved key figures from major tech companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Scale AI, and Palantir.

Dangerous Law in Tennessee: When the fire alarm rings, don't evacuate the school?

School Shooting Data Analysis and Reports • 59 implied HN points • 28 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Security
  1. Following fire safety codes and evacuating quickly during a fire is crucial to prevent tragedies.
  2. There is a constant balance between fire safety and building security that school officials must consider.
  3. Confusing procedures, such as not evacuating during a fire, can increase the risk of stampedes and serious accidents.

Daily bit(e) of C++ | Hardened mode of standard library implementations

Daily bit(e) of C++ • 78 implied HN points • 20 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Security
  1. Dealing with assumptions in programming can be risky, especially in C++ where a violated assumption can lead to undefined behavior.
  2. Proper engineering practices like good unit test coverage and sanitizers can help catch bugs, but sanitizers may not detect all issues, particularly at the library level.
  3. Using the hardened mode of standard library implementations like stdlibc++ and libc++ can provide safety features against specific attacks and checks without affecting ABI, enhancing development experience.

Assessing project safety without software knowledge

DeFi Education • 619 implied HN points • 02 Jun 22
🔮 Crypto Security
  1. It's important to look beyond audits when assessing a project's safety. You should also consider the team's reputation and their commitment to the project.
  2. Avoid projects that use dubious marketing techniques or create a strong cult-like following. These can be signs of potential fraud.
  3. Check the project's partnerships and how they manage security. Just using a well-known service doesn't guarantee protection against vulnerabilities.

User Products under LGPL-3.0

burkhardstubert • 99 implied HN points • 04 Dec 23
🕹 Technology Security
  1. If your product uses LGPL-3.0 libraries like Qt and it’s for consumers, you need to let users modify and install new versions. This applies to things like smart ovens or phones.
  2. Manufacturers worry about safety when users can modify software. But if owners make changes, they might void warranties and be responsible for any problems.
  3. For business products, the rules are easier. Companies don't have to allow modifications, which helps them keep tighter control over how their products operate.

Identity 101: Authentication and Authorization

Identity, Authenticity, and Security • 2 HN points • 04 Sep 24
🕹 Technology Security
  1. Authentication is about proving who you are. It's like showing your ID before entering a building.
  2. Authorization is about what you are allowed to do. It's like having a VIP pass that lets you access certain areas.
  3. Both authentication and authorization are important for keeping applications secure. They help protect personal data and maintain trust with users.

A new kind of world order. Not order as a final state but ordering as a process.

World Game • 8 implied HN points • 26 Dec 25
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. The Western or American-led global order seems to be declining, but it’s unclear what will replace it.
  2. A Chinese world order isn’t a foregone conclusion, since even Chinese authorities don’t seem to believe in imposing one single model.
  3. We’re moving into an era of radical skepticism and pluralism where there won’t be a single unified order — instead, ordering will be an ongoing process.

Living in a Multipolar World

John’s Substack • 7 implied HN points • 11 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. The world is shifting from a unipolar order to a multipolar one, which brings back intense rivalry among major powers.
  2. With at least three great powers, security competition will become more dangerous and unpredictable.
  3. This transition has serious consequences for international stability and makes managing conflicts harder.

JJM vs John Bolton on Venezuela

John’s Substack • 8 implied HN points • 06 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. The discussion centered on a reported U.S. plan to abduct Venezuela’s president, raising clear legal and ethical concerns.
  2. Two commentators tackled the same issues but reached sharply different conclusions about whether such an operation would be justified or wise.
  3. The exchange shows that U.S. intervention in Venezuela deeply divides expert opinion and fuels a broader debate over foreign policy and interventionism.

Germany's Wrongdoing

Diane Francis • 659 implied HN points • 27 Feb 22
🌍 World Politics Security
  1. Germany has a history of making poor choices that negatively impact global affairs. This includes decisions from the previous century that still resonate today.
  2. The country has been criticized for not confronting or holding Russia accountable for its actions. Many believe this attitude shows a lack of strength.
  3. Germany's choice to depend heavily on Russian energy sources has raised concerns, especially during times of geopolitical tension. This dependency is seen as a risky move for the future.