Tech Firms Claim Usefulness, Then Crush Competing Good
It’s so exhausting that the business model of every tech business is 1. do something that’s useful for the world, then 2. immediately try to leverage that to exterminate everything else that’s useful to the world and competes with you.
Ghost Participants Won’t Crack Encrypted Group Chats
“Ghost participants” have been floating around for years as a way to break encrypted messaging. The idea is to add invisible extra people (the police, essentially) to group chats. It’s a dumb idea, and let me explain why.
OpenRouter and Cheap Chinese Models Outpace AI Giants
Everyone is betting on whether Claude or OpenAI or Grok “wins” the AI race. I’m betting on OpenRouter, with people running dirt-cheap Chinese models.
Today's Freeze Controls Won’t Guarantee Future Stability
“Stablecoins have a freeze function” is like “Google isn’t evil.” Sure, that’s what they have today. It’s not what they’ll have in 2033.
World Rushes to Enforce ID, Threatening VPN Anonymity
There’s something ominous about the speed with which the entire world has marched to require identification on platforms and, as I expected, begin the process of banning anonymous VPNs.
Public Hype on Quantum Computing Eases Cryptography Concerns
The fact that major public companies are hyping quantum computer progress actually makes QC progress less scary for cryptography.
US Drops Probe Into WhatsApp‑Meta Chat Visibility Claims
The US has abruptly ended its investigation into claims that WhatsApp chats were visible to Meta. https://t.co/f1WXpQz58J
Bet: Quantum Won’t Break ECC by 2032, ML‑KEM
I’m making a bet with Filippo Valsorda that quantum computers won’t break ECC by 2029/2032, and (secondarily) that one version of ML-KEM will be de-standardized. I have loads of confidence in the former and little in the latter. I just...
Iran Seeks Stablecoin Payments for Hormuz Transits
I’ve seen reports that Iran is demanding payment in stablecoins for Hormuz transits. Does anyone know the addresses or chain details?
Blockchain Still Alive: New Attack and Iran Toll Adoption
All semester I’ve been depressingly short on interesting news for my blockchains class, and I’ve been wondering if this field was moribund. This attack, along with the news that Iran is accepting Hormuz tolls in blockchain-based currencies, gives us something...
State Quantum Power Lies in Hidden Communications Exploitation
Ok I just want to add one thing. Folks, for state actors, the value of having a quantum computer is massively higher if you DON’T tell people you have a quantum computer. Exploiting Bitcoin is a parlor trick. Exploiting the world’s communications...
Quantum Crypto Threats Unlikely Within Our Lifetime
Neat paper on securing cryptocurrencies against quantum attacks. I want to stress that I am not convinced we have anything to worry about in my lifetime. This tweet might haunt me. https://t.co/d1i4reP93g
Generative AI Poised to Monetize Private Data Troves
I want to continue a bit on this subject, which (so far) I see very little concern about. There are vast stores of private data that we’ve built up in various places, including messaging apps. A real “killer app” for...
Moxie‑Meta AI Partnership Raises Privacy Fears
People keep asking me about Moxie’s partnership with Meta. They seem enthusiastic about the prospect of TEE-based AI inference integrated with confidential messengers. I guess I’m in the minority here, because this scares the pants off of me.
Meta Removes Instagram Encryption, Sparking User Frustration
Here’s a good article about Meta’s very frustrating decision to pull encryption out of Instagram. https://t.co/ajH18YCDZK