The NSA (National Security Agency) is funding development of an architecture for a "safer" Internet of Things (IoT), in the hope of incorporating better security at a product's design phase.
The controversial US intelligence agency is bestowing a $299,000, one-year grant to the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) for a project that aims to build a lightweight virtualisation architecture which will make it easier to build security into IoT systems before they leave the factory.
There are some interesting reactions to the announcement on the Sophos Naked Security blog.
Why would the NSA invest in a project that would make it harder for them to spy on you?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2015, @11:34AM
They are an R&D funding agency responsible for this kind of thing. They fund research all the time. They are a very large organization. If you work for a university or company, big or small, and you have wonderful ideas about Internet stuff like security, protocols, etc. you too can apply for research money from them.
Christssakes people. You act like the NSA is this one creepy guy. They are a very large organization with many parts run by many different people. They have multiple parts doing different things with stovepiping and internal competition and all the other crap you get at any large commercial enterprise.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2015, @12:01PM
To expand on this:
It is the "National Security Agency" NOT "National Spy Agency".
They may have lost their way trying to chase after terrorists or something.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by zocalo on Thursday August 20 2015, @12:33PM
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 5, Touché) by curunir_wolf on Thursday August 20 2015, @01:03PM
I am a crackpot
(Score: 2) by zafiro17 on Thursday August 20 2015, @05:53PM
Best to not get caught up in the semantics of naming. How many recent PACs have had names like "committee for the preservation of liberty and freedom" when in reality all they're doing is funneling money to special-interest congressmen for business interests?
These days, names mean little. They may be for security, but they've interpreted - and been encouraged to interpret - it as a mandate to spy on everyone's every last doing. What they're called and what they do are two different beasts.
I'd be suspect about taking money from them too. Like taking money from the devil or something. Yes, we all want our internet-enabled refrigerators secure, but the NSA has given us very real reasons to believe they'll be looking for zero-days that turn our refrigerators into recording devices or something else consumer-unfriendly.
Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis - Jack Handey
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday August 20 2015, @07:10PM
They aren't monolithic. It's not totally unreasonable that some division within the NSA is actually funding real security. The problem is, you can never be sure that it's not the spys pretending to be good guys, and they've so manipulated the laws (see NSL) that to count on them being helpful is folly.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by zafiro17 on Friday August 21 2015, @05:14AM
You get ten points for having
a sig. that basically coMplements your post,
Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis - Jack Handey
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Nerdfest on Thursday August 20 2015, @12:19PM
Because of them doing things like bribing RSA to weaken their security many of us have trouble trusting *anything* they're involved with, and for good reason, I think.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by nyder on Thursday August 20 2015, @01:57PM
Sort of hard not to think of the NSA as the creepy guy when they are spying on all of us. Just because they fund stuff doesn't make them good. It's like saying John Wayne Gacy wasn't all bad, because he used to dress up as a clown for kids.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday August 20 2015, @02:04PM
I know how to make a safer IOT. Start pulling chips out of appliances. Jerk those chips out, and throw them in the trash. If the appliance stops working due to the lack of a chip, send it back to the manufacturer. The manufacturer's incompetence resulted in an unsafe "internet of things", so he can eat the loss.
http://s1246.photobucket.com/user/stilkikin1/media/demotivation_us_I-see-stupid-people-They-are-among-us-walking-everyday-not-knowing-that-they-are-morons_133372627868_zpsf93d4188.jpg.html [photobucket.com]