Security expert snubs RSA conference over NSA payment allegations

6-6-2006

Late last week Reuters reported that security vendor RSA, which encryption solutions, was paid US$10 million by the U.S. National Security Agency several years ago to use a flawed number generating algorithm in one of its products.

That raised questions about whether RSA co-operated with the electronic spy agency to give it a backdoor into certain supposed encrypted applications. Encryption only works if the numbers it generates are truly random.

RSA has stoutly denied it allows a back door into any of its products. But yesterday a prominent non-believer stepped forward.

Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer of anti-virus provider F-Secure, cancelled a talk he was scheduled to deliver at the upcoming annual RSA Conference.

U.S. cloud firms could lose $35 B due to Snowden leak: Study

Snowden gets asylum in Russia

Since that story broke the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, which recommends cybersecurity standards for the private sector, said it was looking into its vetting process.

Once again an IT company has been drawn into controversy about U.S. government electronic spying. Last week executives from Google, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft told President Barak Obama that the allegations are hurting the reputations of their companies.

One thing for certain: More will come in 2014

article, government, privacy, security

Tagged RSA, security strategies