Private Retrieval

It’s very exciting to have a public face to the thoughts around how to enable effective private access to data. Research Announcement The basic hypothesis here is that there’s a high-leverage opportunity to attract thought around scaling the range of anonymous database or data transfer techniques to reach something with better properties that the systems… Continue reading Private Retrieval

Unlocking North Korean Karaoke

I recently got the opportunity to understand what was going on with a Tianchi android KTV console with north korean content loaded on it. A description of the encryption and evolution of DRM protections associated with the device is published on the North Korea Tech blog.

Corporate Censorship

One of the most interesting lines of inquiry within the Censored Planet project at the University of Michigan is trying to pull apart the different actors involved in Internet  censorship. One of the interesting quirks is that a significant factor in why content might not be available to users is that the web publisher themselves… Continue reading Corporate Censorship

HOPE

I’m excited to see a bunch of friends next week at HOPE, an annual New York conference in the same vein as CCC. I’ll be participating in a panel on Internet Censorship on Friday morning, with a fantastic group of co-panelists. The talk recording is available here.

Open Letter to the Cuba Internet Task Force

The following is a response to an invitation to participate in the recently formed Cuba Internet Task Force. Task Force Representatives: I will not be joining the Cuba Internet Task Force, or Subcommittees, because I believe the harm done by the existence of these committees outweighs any potential benefit of the recommendations that can come… Continue reading Open Letter to the Cuba Internet Task Force

A whirlwind trip to Beirut

Through a series of unlikely events, I found myself with the opportunity to visit Beirut for a week in early March of 2018. It was a great experience, and challenged many of the stereotypes I had developed about the realities of both the middle east and proximity to conflict zones. The most impressive aspect of… Continue reading A whirlwind trip to Beirut

DPRK Consumer Technology

The video from the talk I gave on how to get more public visibility into DPRK consumer technology is now online. Slides for the talk are available here.