# Summary Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative — [Vivian Balakrishnan](https://www.mfa.gov.sg/About-MFA/Organisation-Chart/Dr-Vivian-Balakrishnan) — invited several makers and open-source advocates to a session with [GovTech](https://www.tech.gov.sg/) on Friday, during which a teardown of the first version of the [TraceTogether](https://www.tracetogether.gov.sg/) token was performed. The purpose of the session included allowing us an opportunity to examine and learn about the token, and to propose improvements. The need to protect the integrity of an in-progress... (more)

Summary Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative — Vivian Balakrishnan — invited several makers and open-source advocates to a session with GovTech on Friday, during which a teardown of the first version of the TraceTogether token was performed. The purpose of the session included allowing us an opportunity to examine and learn about the token, and to propose improvements. The need to protect the integrity of an in-progress limited... (more)

I've just noticed an [interesting piece of work from Microsoft last year](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/seven-properties-highly-secure-devices/) which both (a) identifies a minimum useful set of security properties for Internet-connected devices and (b) develops a working prototype with MediaTek to demonstrate how little change to an existing microcontroller is required to make this work. The selected set of properties feels about right: - **Hardware-based Root of Trust**: Does the device have a unique, unforgeable identity that is inseparable from the... (more)

I've just noticed an interesting piece of work from Microsoft last year which both (a) identifies a minimum useful set of security properties for Internet-connected devices and (b) develops a working prototype with MediaTek to demonstrate how little change to an existing microcontroller is required to make this work. The selected set of properties feels about right: Hardware-based Root of Trust: Does the device have a unique, unforgeable identity that is inseparable from the hardware?... (more)

TL;DR: I have started a long-term project to substantially reduce my use of Facebook and increase my engagement with friends elsewhere, rather than outright quitting. I am interested to know where others are with this. They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not come back. The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it at... (more)

From time to time over the last several years, ideas have come to mind for blog posts on privacy, freedom, and security, particularly on the Internet. I have therefore been meaning for a while to start a blog on these topics. [Recent events](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook_and_Cambridge_Analytica_data_breach) have finally given this project impetus enough to commence. The name [Panprivicon](/panprivicon) is a play on Bentham's panopticon and concisely expresses my desire to live in a world where each of us... (more)

From time to time over the last several years, ideas have come to mind for blog posts on privacy, freedom, and security, particularly on the Internet. I have therefore been meaning for a while to start a blog on these topics. Recent events have finally given this project impetus enough to commence. The name Panprivicon is a play on Bentham's panopticon and concisely expresses my desire to live in a world where each of us... (more)