Every few months, a new wave of articles appears warning that quantum computers will soon render all existing encryption obsolete and that organisations need to act urgently. The reality is considerably more mundane. For most people and most organisations, the transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is just routine IT hygiene …
There is a running joke in software circles that developers hate writing documentation. Ask a developer to build a feature and they will dive headfirst into the code. Ask them to document it afterwards and it will never get done. This is not a character flaw so much as a …
Docker installed using Snap has a pecularity where it is restricted to the user's home directory. The AI models which I used to assist took me round and round convincing me that the file did not exist, or that the version of Docker I was using expected compose.yml instead …
Recently, I have taken to sleeping with my windows closed. I don't get disturbed by mosquitoes buzzing at my ear in the wee hours of the morning and don't get affected by the haze as well. However, there is always the nagging thought that the "better sleep" I am experiencing …
The CSIT Mini CTF 2026 presented us with a 2 stage Windows binary. The first stage downloads an ascii payload from https://minictf2026.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/enc_release-2.txt , performs some decoding where the bits were inverted and reversed, and then loaded into memory and executed. The simpler way to …
I've recently come into a Kaiterra Sensedge Mini and spent some time integrating it into my Home Assistant setup. The Kaiterra Sensedge Mini is a commercial grade Air Quality Sensor capable of monitoring CO2, TVOC, PM2.5, PM10, Humidity and Temperature. The easiest route to integrating with Home Assistant is …
One of the great selling points of Caddy is seamless SSL setup as Caddy will automatically request certificates from Let's Encrypt. However it uses the HTTP-01 or the TLS-ALPN-01 challenge which requires exposing Caddy on port 80 or 443 during the cert renewal process. This may not be possible as …
A couple of months ago, I acquired one of these N100 low power boards to replace my old Wyse 5010 . These boards are way more powerful and have a lower power consumption, while still remaining relatively affordable. The CPU and motherboard combination can be had for under $200. I chose …
Having recently graduated with a Master of Laws (LLM) in Information Technology Law, I thought it would be apt to share more about how I came to the decision to pursue the LLM and to reflect on the journey over the past two years. Why Study for an LLM? Having …
I have been a longtime user of localtuya and tried to configure a recently purchased triple USB tuya plug that looks like that below. localtuya has been suggested by most of the tutorials online and is one of the most popular add-ons. The device name showing up on the SmartLife …
I have always wondered about a somewhat inconsistent behaviour in how Windows decides when the computer is inactive, and to turn off the screen and subsequently sleep. As an example, if I have a 2 hour YouTube video playing in the browser, the screen will never turn off and the …
Recently, I faced issues integrating Kasm with Microsoft Azure Internal OIDC due to outdated documentation . After some trial and error, I got it to work. Here's the list of inaccuracies in the documentation. Step 17 is no longer required. sid will be automatically included in the token. You will not …
In the context of software, export control has a fairly encompassing definition and restricts the "disclosure of source code to foreign nationals", even if the disclosure occurs domestically, even if no money changes hands, and also if the distribution occurs over the Internet [1], the rationale of which is to …
I do believe that Barlow's statement still holds some weight today and that states "are not welcome" in cyberspace [1]. In cyberspace, it is companies that jealously guard their jurisdiction and sovereignty as they battle for market share, user retention, all the while collecting massive troves of data from their …
Doctorow states that the most important commodity in today's economy is attention [1]. Each person only has 24 hours in a day to send messages, surf the net, watch video and shop online. Hence, even though the size of hard drives has increased 100 fold from 10GB in 1999 to …
Internet traffic today is highly asymmetric. The top 5 social media sites account for 99% market share of global social media traffic [1]. Crimes ranging from blackmail to phishing scams to bomb threats are largely occurring on the same few social messaging apps and social network sites. Most electronic commerce …
There are two main categories of open-source licenses. Firstly, permissive licenses such as Apache 2.0 and MIT allow the license holder significant freedom to use the code even as part of proprietary software that the license holder is developing [1]. Restrictive licenses such as GPL family of licenses impose …
There are three parts which must all be proven true to meet the "Authenticity" criteria. The evidence must be obtained from the computer in question, the evidence must be "complete and accurate" and it must "remain unchanged" since collection [1]. Proving that the evidence has not been tampered is relatively …
Like Bart, I also disagree that some of the most influential forensic tools are "open source". There are indeed many open sources tools such as SIFT workstation [1] and The Sleuth Kit [2]. Some forensics analysts also write their own tools and scripts to parse lesser known file formats or …
A bank robber making a getaway is not going to stop at a traffic light. Similarly, cybercriminals who are intending to commit serious crimes will definitely use the most secure systems available to them regardless of the legality. Thus, the pertinent question is whether such a law can be effectively …
There is no clear definition of software. However, one of the more helpful definitions is the definition in the Model Provisions on the Protection of Computer Software, where software is defined as "a set of instructions" to "perform or achieve a particular function, task or result" [1]. The lack of …
Denial of Service (DoS) is tricky to regulate because it involves high volume of "legitimate" traffic which stresses the target's resources [1]. Since the traffic is legitimate, what makes an act DoS is the underlying intent to exhaust the target's resources. To illustrate, web scraping also generates high volumes of …
MDDI recently stated that "people can make a good guess at someone's full NRIC number [...] especially if one also knows the year of birth of the person". I will attempt to make a good guess at Minister Josephine Teo's NRIC based on available information. I will be working off this …
I believe one of the most difficult challenges is that user generated content is unstructured in nature. An individual can post about his family trip, which would constitute personal data [1]. He could also post a poem, which would be intellectual property [2]. This has numerous implications because the legal …
I believe that abuse of a search engine's dominant market position is one of the most egregious issues today. van Eijk argues that dominant search engines could unfairly exclude certain parties in their search results, treat their own services preferentially and exert excessive control over the advertising market [1]. The …
As we see, historically, legislation has had a major impact in either encouraging or discouraging new payment systems. The negative impacts of EMD1 on the EU eMoney market (despite best intentions) resulted in a new piece of legislation, EMD2, to try and correct the issues it caused. With the emergence …
I think it is important to make a distinction between trader and consumer in order to establish a balance between consumer protection and ownership rights. The Sales of Good Act (SoGA) 1979 makes clear distinction [1], requiring that traders ensure 'satisfactory quality' and 'fitness for a particular purpose' in goods …
To start off, the pre-internet Shevill judgment, widely deemed to be fair [1], allows plaintiffs to commence action in the publisher's jurisdiction, where the totality of the damage suffered can be sought [2]. Plaintiffs can also take action in their own jurisdiction, however only damage in that jurisdiction can be …
I have a simple fan that could either be powered by a battery or through USB. To switch it on or off, I would need to press a button. I wanted to convert the fan to be purely powered by USB and automatically switches on when power is supplied through …
Kwet first speaks about economic domination, where US Big Tech companies like Uber are dominating the market in the Global South [1]. He laments that usage of these products will "create technological dependencies" leading to "perpetual resource extraction" [2]. It is indeed true that the dominance of Uber's ride hailing …
The case involved the death of an 11 year old girl due to starvation. The government had put in place a new Aadhaar digital identity system and the people had to biometrically verify their identity and register through a "seeding process" to be eligible to claim benefits such as subsidized …
The "false trade-off" in Solove's words is also known as a false dichotomy. The public is misled into choosing one of two unappealing options when there could be other viable alternatives. Solove believes that the optimal solution may be to grant the government the ability to conduct surveillance under proper …
Zuboff believes that Big Tech has the capability to process large volumes of consumer behavioural data and use that to influence consumer behaviour [1]. According to Zuboff, this data is able to reveal what "a particular individual in a particular time and place was thinking, feeling, and doing" [2]. Zuboff …
I agree with Doctorow's main argument as well. With today's technology, content filtering is done on a best effort basis and it is highly likely that certain adult content will inevitably slip through the filters. Hence, good parenting is equally important to educate the child about inappropriate content and navigating …
Cobbe believes that it is important to regulate recommenders because they play a key role in promoting content to a "large audience" and thus has a larger impact [1]. This makes sense considering over 400 hours of video content is uploaded onto Youtube every minute [2], which makes regulating content …
Singapore does not have the right to privacy in her constitution. I find her case particularly interesting because Singapore was a British colony up until 1958. The European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), of which the UK is a signatory, came into force in 1953 [1]. It would be interesting …
It's the holiday seasons and I decided to build a Tensegrity Hourglass Tower model as a holiday project. Possibly the first in the world. The inverted tripod at the top is "floating" and only attached by twine. Tautline hitch is used to adjust the tension on the 3 sides. The …
In Lindqvist, the court concluded that uploading data to a hosting provider within the EU where that data is available for access to anyone outside the EU does not constitute a data transfer [1]. The explanation given was that the page did not have the ability to initiate a transmission …
Jan mentioned that data controllers have to ensure "every instance of their personal data is eliminated across all platforms". I believe that is a bit of an overstatement. I would have probably worded it as "every instance of their personal data where processing is authorized by the controller is eliminated …
I think there are areas where LastPass has done well and areas where they fall short. Firstly, LastPass's initial communication on August 25 2022 was sent two weeks after detecting a breach, which is reasonably timely considering they needed time to investigate the incident [1]. EDPB guidelines mandate that controller …
I believe that the legislators drafting the GDPR have taken into account the concept of "behavioral surplus". Both can co-exist as long as companies exercise good judgement in the processing of data. According to Article 5(1)(c) of the GDPR, Personal data processed must be "adequate, relevant and limited …
According to Recital 32 of the GDPR, "pre-ticked boxes" as well as "inactivity" does not count as consent [1]. Planet49 GmbH v Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen was probably one of the cases which set the precedence for what constitutes consent. Planet49 had a pre-ticked checkbox on its lottery participation form allowing …
I would like to explore Article 9(2)(e) of the GDPR further as the term "manifestly made public" appears to warrant more in depth discussion. An example for such a situation could be an event organizer processing the details of an openly known HIV positive individual to invite that …
I believe one main problem when imposing liability on online content occurs when there is a hard conflict between 2 legal systems [1]. Since online content is accessible worldwide, it would be difficult to subject it to law from two strikingly different jurisdictions simultaneously. The case of LICRA vs Yahoo …
Article 9(1) of the GDPR added genetic data, biometric data where it is used to uniquely identify a person as well as sexual orientation into the definition of "sensitive personal data". These changes were likely prompted by the social and technological changes that occurred in the decade between when …
Under a permissive approach, Roomba has little obligations to its customers. It is able to use a blanket statement in its policy such as "share personal information with subsidiaries, third party vendors, and the government, as well as in connection with 'any company transaction' such as a merger or external …
Acorn is a company in Singapore that sells ceiling fans. Some of the models have a remote control for convenience. However, they are not smart fans and you will not be able to control them using your home automation solution out of the box. However, if you have the remote …
I've recently procured a used Wyse 5010 thin client for $15. While some information on this device is already out there, I've discovered quite a bit during the upgrading process which I would like to share here. Although the official specifications mentioned 4GB RAM maximum, the device works when a …
As more details of the Barracuda ESG 0 day compromise emerge from both Barracuda and Mandiant , it starts to make sense why Mandiant would recommended a complete replacement of all existing devices. It appears that upon detection, the attackers managed to quickly deploy SANDBAR, which is a kernel rootkit to …
Earlier this week, there was an interesting altercation in Katong. According to the Straits Times, the cyclist jumped onto the bonnet of the car which was then seen moving while the cyclist clung on. Both women have been arrested, I will refrain from commenting further on the criminal aspect since …