Interesting things that students have mailed to me!

A late-breaking news item on a contract awarded by the Dept. of Defense to ActivCard to furnish smartcard ID's to military personnel. Contributed by Brian McWilliams.

DOD orders smartcards

Here is an enormous site of links to all manner of information on hacking and cryptography (which are often interlinked). Contributed by PJ Behrens.

Rat's Hacker Links

Interview with Phil Zimmerman, after speculation that his crypto program PGP may have been used by the terrorist cells to coordinate their attacks in Washington and New York. Contributed by Justin Hayden.

Washington Post article

Guardian article that says Phil is not apologetic about creating PGP. I saw this a couple of days ago in the Guardian, with Phil saying the Post's implication that he regrets the creation of PGP is totally false.

Jacob Boyer's Page and Programs (prepare to have your web browser crash! -- just kidding, a little)

Jacob Boyer's Page

A commentary by Bruce Schneier about the NSA_KEY thingie in Microsoft's encryption software, which has caused people to speculate the NSA has inserted a back door. Contributed by Mary Dominguez.

Bruce Schneier's opinion.

Funny quote found by David Starner:

"Programming can be fun, so can cryptography; however, they should not be combined."
From a book on clarity in programming, by Kreitzberg and Shneiderman.

Nice version of the Jefferson Wheel Cypher, noted by Brian Hicks
You'll need a VRML plugin for your browser, though.

Jefferson Wheel Cypher

The NSA's summer intern program, pointed out by Tim Wiseman.
The deadline's passed for this summer, but maybe some of you might consider it next year.

NSA Director's Summer Program

Article about US Export Policy for encryption software, contributed by Tim Wiseman.

U.S. may lighten encryption export policy, By Courtney Macavinta