Cipher Issue 108, June 10, 2012, Editor's Letter

This past May the Security and Privacy Symposium held its 33rd meeting at a new venue, The Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, California. Attendance hit a record level of over 450, and many stayed on for one or more of the 5 the co-located workshops that followed. Planning for the 2013 conference has already started, and we are looking forward to another stellar event in San Francisco.

This month we are pleased to note the return of our book reviewer, Richard Austin, with his review of Practical Malware Analysis.

There have been many articles in the wider news media about cybersecurity, much of it from research work and a changing stance of the US government. We have selected several for brief mention. Taken together, they may illustrate the harsh reality of security: malware is the only game in town and privacy is an illusion. Yet note that the article about foreign espionage against US networks cites an annual cost estimate, while another article cautions that these estimates are usually unfounded.

Damn the viruses, overclock the processors, full speed ahead!
      

      Hilarie Orman