Security

Full disk encryption on OpenBSD 5.3

Full disk encryption is becoming (it should always have been) more popular. When your laptop gets stolen, a login password is only a minor inconvenience to a hacker trying to steal your identity. Pop in a live CD or USB stick with Knoppix or Backtrack (or in fact basically any Linux distribution) and all your information is there for the attacker to use to steal your identity, impersonate you online and perhaps even empty your bank accounts.

High-latency messaging via lego robot courier

Wireless doesn’t necessarily have to mean radio waves. If you’re worried about people listening in on your conversations, why not use a courier instead? This is a solution I developed as part of my degree programme at the University of Aberdeen. At each end are two VT100 terminals, these connect to the robot through tin foil contacts at each end of the board. A switch on the robot lets it know that it’s hit the wall and (hopefully) docked with the contacts.

Contact

• iain@learmonth.me
• irlxyz
• irlxyz