Cipher Issue 145, July 27, 2018, Editor's Letter

Dear Readers,

The summer doldrums are upon us, and there seems to be little in the way of security news other than a seemingly unending stream of side channel attacks on predictive branching (although researchers seem far ahead of exploiters this time). Sometimes this editor has suspected that most news is proferred by those seeking to profit from it in the form of government grants or increased customer interest. In the heat of summer, hacks and privacy violations take a back seat to vacations and news of floods and fires.

Such cynicism aside, we see that Facebook's dalliance with Cambridge Analytica has cost them dearly in stock value, and perhaps the tide is turning in favor of the individual in the privacy wars.

If you want to submit a paper for possible inclusion in the program for the 2019 Security and Privacy Symposium, you should do so by September 1. The continuous submission system runs continuously, but papers submitted later than that date cannot be considered for the 2019 symposium unless no revisions are required. If you are sure that your paper will go through review without revisions, the deadline is December 1.

        Seeking Its Own Level
They built the dam high, and they built the dam wide,
It held back the river and stopped the flood's ride.
When the water all vanished, speculation arose,
A faulty controller had caused losses and woes.
But they finally acquitted the electrical panel,
Because all the water went down the side channel.

      Hilarie Orman