Nate Lawson
Crypto Strikes Back!

Discussion: Issue #114

Encrypting and decrypting, choosing a random number, signing and verifying – it all seems so logical. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions and a copy of “Applied Cryptography”.

This talk will cover recent crypto vulnerabilities in widely-deployed systems and how the smallest oversight resulted in catastrophe. You’ll learn why public key crypto is like a Ford Pinto in a demolition derby, the meaning of “PBKDF2”, and how Web 2.0 reinvented 1970’s-style password hashing, badly. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll leave with a newfound respect for the utter brittleness of even the simplest crypto.

Nate Lawson is the founder of Root Labs, which specializes in the design and analysis of embedded security and cryptography. Previously, he worked at Cryptography Research, analyzing cryptographic products and co-designing the Blu-ray content protection layer known as BD+.

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