The hottest Security Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top U.S. Politics Topics
Frankly Speaking 254 implied HN points 19 Dec 23
  1. Developer security education products are seen as features, not platforms or products.
  2. There is a growing importance on in-depth security education for developers, especially in regulated industries.
  3. Developer security education focuses on teaching developers how to identify vulnerabilities and adopt secure development practices, often following the OWASP Top 10 guidelines.
AI Snake Oil 1171 implied HN points 29 Mar 23
  1. Misinformation, labor impact, and safety are key AI risks raised in an open letter.
  2. Speculative risks like malicious disinformation campaigns overlook real harm caused by over-reliance on AI tools.
  3. Addressing near-term security risks from AI integration into real-world applications is crucial, and the containment mindset may not be effective.
Public 350 implied HN points 15 Nov 23
  1. FBI is accused of purging Christians, Conservatives, and Covid skeptics based on whistleblower allegations
  2. Whistleblowers claim FBI has retaliated against some employees and improperly used security clearance investigations
  3. Allegations suggest FBI may be targeting specific groups while allowing misconduct by others
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:
CDR Salamander 1100 implied HN points 04 May 23
  1. Largest land war in Europe is happening, China surpassing the US in navy size, and Iran hijacking oil tankers are pressing issues.
  2. Naval War College's focus has shifted away from war to topics like gender and peace, raising questions about its alignment with naval priorities.
  3. The symposium at the Naval War College focused on gender issues, peace, and security, rather than warfighting and maritime challenges.
ChinAI Newsletter 117 implied HN points 05 Feb 24
  1. The report highlights security assessments for LLMs, such as prompt injection attacks and adversarial examples.
  2. Tencent developed a platform to evaluate large model security, focusing on automated attack sample generation and risk analysis.
  3. The concept of 'Blue Army' drills is discussed as a method to test the effectiveness of large models like Hunyuan.
Phillips’s Newsletter 76 implied HN points 27 Feb 24
  1. The USA has achieved its long-standing goal of uniting Europe under its security leadership through Sweden joining NATO.
  2. Putin and Trump are desperate to prevent this USA-led security pact in Europe from turning into a failure.
  3. Since Theodore Roosevelt's era, the USA's primary security concern has been the fate of Europe.
Samstack 999 implied HN points 15 Apr 23
  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.
False Positive 38 HN points 21 Mar 24
  1. ASML, a Dutch company, holds a monopoly on creating the world's most advanced microchips through their EUV lithography systems.
  2. The control of ASML by the Netherlands provides a unique chokepoint power in global microchip production, impacting international trade and security.
  3. Despite its power, ASML faces limitations in leveraging its monopoly, as it is enmeshed in Western-dominated supply chains and complexities that restrict its options for challenging export controls.
Sinocism 963 implied HN points 17 Feb 23
  1. Consider the implications of the US-China balloon incident and potential Biden-Xi phone call or Blinken-Wang Yi meeting.
  2. Reflect on how the visit of US deputy assistant secretary of defense for China to Taiwan will be viewed by PRC policymakers.
  3. Analyze what Wang Yi may achieve at the Munich Security Conference and during his visit to Russia.
Wang Xiangwei's Thought of the Day on China 98 implied HN points 08 Feb 24
  1. The Ministry of State Security in China, once shrouded in secrecy, is now stepping into the public eye due to a shift in focus towards national security.
  2. The current Minister of State Security, Chen Yixin, has been instrumental in the department's increased visibility and public presence.
  3. The Chinese leadership is emphasizing Xi Jinping's ideology on national security, adding it as a new pillar to consolidate his political theory.
ANDREA CECCHI Newsletter 117 implied HN points 24 Jan 24
  1. Belief that war will intensify rapidly, especially after recent comments from Biden regarding attacks on Houthi rebels.
  2. Expectation for liquidity to seek safety in the bond market, leading to lower bond yields, creating an illusion of security.
  3. Concern over Biden starting a war in Yemen without constitutional approval, although the rebel group poses minimal threat to American homeland.
Phillips’s Newsletter 95 implied HN points 05 Feb 24
  1. European states need to prepare for potential security challenges without relying on the US.
  2. The European Union should take on more responsibility for European security, including integrating Ukraine and UK, and removing non-democratic states.
  3. Immediate steps are needed to support Ukraine in the war, requiring quick and decisive action from European states.
Sinocism 98 implied HN points 02 Feb 24
  1. Xi Jinping has discussed the importance of new productive forces in Marxist theory
  2. The Politburo Study Session focused on developing new productive forces
  3. Emphasis on promoting high-quality development for strengthening the country and rejuvenating the nation
Frankly Speaking 254 implied HN points 16 Nov 23
  1. The current security review process is outdated and not aligned with modern development practices.
  2. Implementing efficient and effective security measures may involve integrating software engineers with security teams.
  3. Scaling security efforts requires a rethink of traditional security review processes towards more collaborative and contextual approaches.
Cybernetic Forests 179 implied HN points 17 Dec 23
  1. Advancements in AI may not always lead to true improvement or problem-solving, as new technologies continue to replace previous ones without learning from past failures.
  2. There is evidence that AI may be making things worse, even in areas it is meant to excel in, such as ethics and safety, leading to a loss of expertise and rush to incorporate generative AI algorithms.
  3. AI models can have significant environmental impacts, using vast amounts of energy and water, highlighting the importance of developing more sustainable computational infrastructure and greener algorithms.
Rod’s Blog 79 implied HN points 08 Feb 24
  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.
Engineering At Scale 72 implied HN points 11 Feb 24
  1. API Gateway acts as an intermediary in microservices, handling client requests, and routing them to the appropriate microservices, simplifying communication for clients.
  2. API Gateway enhances security by authenticating and authorizing requests, provides rate-limiting to prevent attacks, and improves performance through caching and protocol conversion.
  3. Downsides of API Gateways include increased latency due to an extra hop, potential single point of failure, and added complexity to the system architecture.
lcamtuf’s thing 42 HN points 01 Mar 24
  1. Memory safety in programming languages like C and C++ is a significant issue due to the risk of buffer overflows and other coding errors.
  2. Although there is a push to adopt memory-safe languages like a mandate from The White House, the practicality and necessity of such a move is questionable.
  3. Challenges in enforcing a complete shift to memory-safe languages include the limited exposure of critical code to attacks and the fact that other security vulnerabilities are more common in causing breaches.
Rod’s Blog 39 implied HN points 04 Mar 24
  1. In the interconnected business landscape, managing third-party risks is crucial to protect sensitive information. Careful vendor selection, effective risk management strategies, and strong contracts can help minimize risks.
  2. Third-party risks can lead to severe consequences like financial losses, legal liabilities, reputation damage, and regulatory penalties. This highlights the importance of proactively addressing these risks.
  3. Common types of third-party risks include data breaches, system compromises, non-compliance with regulations, and supply chain disruptions. Understanding and mitigating these risks are key for organizational security.
Am I Stronger Yet? 49 HN points 19 Feb 24
  1. LLMs are gullible because they lack adversarial training, allowing them to fall for transparent ploys and manipulations
  2. LLMs accept tricks and adversarial inputs because they haven't been exposed to such examples in their training data, making them prone to repeatedly falling for the same trick
  3. LLMs are easily confused and find it hard to distinguish between legitimate inputs and nonsense, leading to vulnerabilities in their responses
Rod’s Blog 39 implied HN points 29 Feb 24
  1. Adversarial examples can deceive AI systems by manipulating inputs, leading to incorrect outcomes in various domains like medical imaging and autonomous vehicles.
  2. Understanding these risks is crucial for building effective defenses and creating awareness about the vulnerabilities in AI systems.
  3. Researchers are actively working to develop robust defenses against adversarial attacks to enhance the security and reliability of AI technology.
Frankly Speaking 355 implied HN points 16 Aug 23
  1. Snyk is a developer-focused application security product that integrates security into the development process.
  2. Snyk's core product is a software composition analysis (SCA) tool that quickly detects vulnerabilities in dependencies.
  3. Despite success, all startups, including Snyk, still have the possibility of failure.
Daily bit(e) of C++ 78 implied HN points 20 Jan 24
  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.
Rod’s Blog 59 implied HN points 05 Feb 24
  1. Microsoft Sentinel helps in detecting and mitigating inactive account sign-ins by collecting and analyzing sign-in logs from Microsoft Entra ID using the Kusto Query Language.
  2. To mitigate inactive account sign-ins, actions include investigating the source, blocking or disabling the account, resetting credentials, and educating users on security best practices.
  3. Best practices for managing inactive accounts in Microsoft Entra ID include defining a policy for account lifecycle, implementing provisioning and deprovisioning processes, monitoring account activity, and educating users.
philsiarri 44 implied HN points 20 Feb 24
  1. Tinder is expanding its ID verification feature to users in the US, UK, Brazil, and Mexico to enhance safety and confidence in connecting with matches.
  2. The ID verification process involves comparing user-provided information with official IDs like Driver's Licences or Passports through a video selfie.
  3. Verified users receive badges indicating their verification status and experience a 67% increase in matches, showing the effectiveness of this safety measure.
Rod’s Blog 39 implied HN points 26 Feb 24
  1. Google's Gemini AI models are designed for various tasks and are based on responsible AI principles, but faced challenges like data poisoning attacks.
  2. The data poisoning attack on Google's Gemini showed the model's vulnerability and raised questions about the effectiveness of Google's Responsible AI policy.
  3. Experts suggest that Google should have better safeguards for data quality, transparency in model deployment, and more engagement with the AI community to address ethical implications.
Proof 60 implied HN points 02 Feb 24
  1. Donald Trump faces serious legal and financial challenges, including an $83.3 million civil jury verdict against him.
  2. There are doubts about Trump's claims of having $400 million in liquid assets to pay off judgments against him.
  3. The concern over Trump's financial situation and potential debt raises national security concerns.
Rod’s Blog 59 implied HN points 01 Feb 24
  1. To get the most out of Microsoft Sentinel, organizations should carefully plan and prepare their deployment by assessing security needs and goals.
  2. Choosing the right subscription and pricing model is crucial for optimizing the benefits of Microsoft Sentinel, based on data requirements, user protection, and features needed.
  3. Effective management of Microsoft Sentinel involves monitoring data ingestion, leveraging AI and ML capabilities, automating workflows, and learning from security incidents and feedback.