Best of Encryption — 2024

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   Video

   Fireship·1y

   Computing just changed forever… but there’s a catch

   Google has unveiled a new Quantum chip named Willow, capable of solving problems much faster than the world's largest supercomputer, El Capitan. Despite major advancements from both Google and China in the field of quantum computing, the technology still faces significant challenges such as high error rates and the need for extremely low operating temperatures. Quantum computers have the potential to revolutionize fields like encryption and scientific research but are not yet practical for widespread use.

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   Video

   ByteByteGo·2y

   How SSH Really Works

   SSH is essential for providing secure remote access over unsecured networks. This video explains how SSH creates a secure tunnel between client and server, focusing on SSH2, which offers improved security features compared to SSH1. Key aspects covered include TCP connection establishment, version and algorithm negotiation, key exchange using the Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman method, and public key authentication. Once authenticated, all communication between the client and server is encrypted using a session key. SSH also supports local forwarding for tunneling other network services securely.

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   Article

   CSO Online·2y

   7 open source security tools too good to ignore

   Open-source security tools play a critical role in preventing cyber threats and data loss. Tools like ZAP, Wireshark, Bloodhound Community Edition, Autopsy, MISP, Let’s Encrypt, and GNU Privacy Guard are essential for tasks ranging from vulnerability scanning and packet analysis to forensic investigations and encryption. These community-backed tools offer robust functionalities to detect and manage security risks, making them indispensable for security teams.

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   Article

   Community Picks·2y

   All Proton Drive apps are now open source

   Proton has announced that all Proton Drive apps, including desktop versions, are now fully open source. This move highlights Proton's commitment to privacy and transparency, allowing the community and security experts to inspect and verify the apps' security. Open-source code helps in identifying potential vulnerabilities and strengthens user trust. Proton also supports various open-source projects and encourages community involvement through initiatives like their Bug Bounty Program.

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   Article

   Community Picks·2y

   Dotenv

   dotenv-vault is a secrets manager that syncs .env files between machines, environments, and team members. It works with a single command, supports multiple environments, and integrates everywhere. Teams love using dotenv-vault for keeping their secrets safe.

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   Article

   Hacker News·2y

   From dotenv to dotenvx: Next Generation Config Management

   Dotenvx, the evolution of the popular configuration tool dotenv, addresses major security and usability issues. It provides cross-platform consistency, supports multiple environments, and introduces encryption for .env files. Dotenvx aims to be the next generation in configuration management, offering features like runtime environment injection and enhanced security through public-key cryptography. Its release marks an important upgrade for managing environment variables securely and efficiently.

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   Article

   Community Picks·2y

   sindresorhus/awesome-nodejs: :zap: Delightful Node.js packages and resources

   A curated list of Node.js packages and resources for developers.

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   Article

   Community Picks·2y

   getsops/sops: Simple and flexible tool for managing secrets

   SOPS is a versatile tool designed for managing encrypted files in formats including YAML, JSON, ENV, INI, and BINARY. It supports encryption using AWS KMS, GCP KMS, Azure Key Vault, age, and PGP. Users can access binaries and packages from its GitHub releases or explore unstable features in the main branch by installing from source. SOPS allows for easy integration with AWS IAM for managing master keys and supports various encryption contexts and roles. The use of `.sops.yaml` files facilitates configuration and management of encryption setups. For those wanting to decrypt or encrypt files, SOPS offers a streamlined command-line interface with various flags for customization.

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   Article

   strongdm·2y

   13 API Security Best Practices to Know in 2024

   Learn 13 API security best practices to protect your application and user data, including strong authentication mechanisms, least privilege access control, data encryption, rate limiting, and more.

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    Article

    ByteByteGo·2y

    EP102: Encoding vs Encryption vs Tokenization

    This post discusses the differences between encoding, encryption, and tokenization, and how they are used in system design to handle sensitive information.

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    Article

    freeCodeCamp·2y

    Python Back-End Development – Handbook for Beginners

    Learn best practices for user authentication, user authorization, data encryption, secure communication, secure storage, key management, access controls, and regular security testing in Python back-end development.

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    Article

    asayer·2y

    The Ultimate Guide to API Keys

    Learn about the purpose of API keys, how to secure them, and authentication methods to ensure authorized access to software or services.

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    Article

    asayer·2y

    Flutter Fortified: Mastering Updates and Security

    This post provides a comprehensive guide on securing and updating Flutter applications. It explains the importance of keeping apps secure and up-to-date, comparing hashing and encryption methods, and offering practical advice for implementing security measures. Key topics include handling password hashing, ensuring data encryption, optimizing app performance, fixing bugs, and maintaining app stability. Additionally, it emphasizes regular updates, regression testing, and monitoring for performance and security issues to ensure a reliable and secure user experience.

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    Article

    Hacker News·2y

    ambianic/peerfetch: Peer-to-peer HTTP over WebRTC.

    Peer-to-peer HTTP over WebRTC allows secure, direct access from web browsers to edge devices behind firewalls without needing custom VPN setups, cloud intermediaries, dynamic DNS, or custom firewall rules. It's safe to run in application space and supports end-to-end encryption. Currently available in JavaScript and Python, this approach supports various applications like private home security cameras, IoT device communication, personal web apps, and federated learning.

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    Article

    Community Picks·2y

    Our Response to the Canadian Government

    The Canadian government plans to ban Flipper Zero due to claims that it is being used to steal cars. However, there is no evidence to support these claims and banning Flipper Zero would not address the underlying security issues with keyless entry systems.

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    Article

    Hacker News·2y

    jpillora/chisel: A fast TCP/UDP tunnel over HTTP

    Chisel is a fast TCP/UDP tunnel over HTTP, secured via SSH. It provides easy-to-use, performant, and encrypted connections. It allows passing through firewalls and provides a secure endpoint into your network. Chisel is written in Go and can be used for various purposes such as creating tunnel endpoints, reverse port forwarding, and as a reverse proxy.

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    Article

    Community Picks·2y

    How SSH Secures Your Connection

    SSH, or Secure Shell, provides secure remote access to UNIX-like servers by ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability through encryption, authentication, and protection against various attacks. It uses asymmetric and symmetric encryption, Diffie-Hellman key exchange, and Message Authentication Codes (MAC) for robust security. The post also explores ways to prevent tampering and downgrade attacks while discussing methods for secure user authentication.

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    Article

    GitGuardian·2y

    Top Secrets Management Tools for 2024

    This post discusses the importance of secrets management in software development and provides a list of top secrets management tools. It covers the main elements of secrets management, what to look for in a secrets management tool, and highlights several popular tools in the market.

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    Article

    Ruby Flow·2y

    OWASP Cheat Sheet Series

    Learn the proper methods for storing passwords to ensure they remain protected even if an application or database is compromised. This guide highlights the importance of using hashing (not encryption) for passwords, the benefits of using salts and peppers, and the recommended hashing algorithms like Argon2id, scrypt, bcrypt, and PBKDF2. It also discusses work factors, upgrading legacy hashes, and ensuring compatibility with international characters.

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    Article

    Medium·2y

    JWT, JWS, JWE and how to cook them

    This post explains the concepts of JWT, JWS, and JWE, provides examples of how to implement them in Go using symmetric and asymmetric algorithms, and discusses their use cases in authorization and secure information exchange.

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    Article

    System Weakness·2y

    How I Built a Web App with No JavaScript Experience

    The author, with no prior JavaScript experience, describes their journey of building a web app for file encryption and decryption using AES-256. They started with HTML/CSS and leaned heavily on AI for JavaScript implementation. Challenges included unfamiliar JavaScript quirks, debugging issues, and the complexities of encryption protocols. Despite these hurdles, the author successfully completed the project, emphasizing the pivotal role of AI in overcoming obstacles and refining the app.

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    Article

    Community Picks·2y

    End-to-End Encryption in the Browser

    This post explores end-to-end encryption in the browser, explaining how traditional website architecture works, the concept of end-to-end encryption, and how the hash part of the URL can be used for encryption in a website.

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    Article

    Hacker News·1y

    privastead/privastead

    Privastead is a privacy-preserving home security camera solution that uses end-to-end encryption through the OpenMLS implementation. It consists of a local camera hub, a mobile app for notifications and livestreaming, and an untrusted server for message relaying. The system ensures that only the hub and the mobile app can access unencrypted videos, and it supports various IP cameras with RTSP and ONVIF capabilities. The project also emphasizes minimal trust in the IP camera and does not conceal event timing from potential adversaries.

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    Article

    Bitfield Consulting·2y

    Cryptography in Go: AES encryption — Bitfield Consulting

    This post discusses AES encryption in the Go programming language, covering key cipher modes such as Electronic Code Book (ECB) and Cipher Block Chain (CBC). It provides practical examples of how to use the `crypto/aes` package to encrypt and decrypt data. The author also introduces Galois Counter Mode (GCM) for added security through message integrity checks, and challenges readers to implement their own CLI tools for encryption and decryption.

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    Article

    strongdm·2y

    13 Password Management Best Practices to Know in 2024

    Learn 13 password management best practices to protect your organization's systems and data from password-related attacks.

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