I’ve now been working in tech for 25 years, and in that time I’ve developed some wisdom. One theme I’ve discovered and blogged about repeatedly over the years is profound despite its simplicity: In many cases, the best way to know whether something will work is to just try it. I’ve written numerous posts makingContinue reading “Experimentation: Just Try It!”
Category Archives: web
Web Security is Too Hard
It started innocently enough. I saw a tweet about a new product offering from one of my favorite companies, Cloudflare. Neat! I clicked through to the site and there it is: And huzzah!, my preferred handle, @ericlaw is still available. I’d better hurry to claim it before someone else gets it! Since I’m already aContinue reading “Web Security is Too Hard”
Attack Techniques: Fake Captive Portals
When a device first joins a network, the upstream network hardware has full control over its traffic and can allow/block any packets sent from the device from reaching the Internet. Many public networks (typically Wi-Fi, but sometimes wired), located in hotels, coffee shops, mass transit, schools, etc. require that the user accept Terms of UseContinue reading “Attack Techniques: Fake Captive Portals”
Guidelines for URL Storage and Comparison
This document contains some thoughts about the storage and comparison of URLs, common operations crucial to the correct function of security software like Microsoft SmartScreen. Importantly, URLs are also displayed on security surfaces to enable the user to make a decision based on their contents. Eight years ago, I wrote the Guidelines for URL Display.Continue reading “Guidelines for URL Storage and Comparison”
AI Injection Attacks
A hot infosec topic these days is “How can we prevent abuse of AI agents?” While AI introduces awesome new capabilities, it also entails an enormous set of risks from the obvious and mundane to the esoteric and elaborate. As a browser security person, I’m most often asked about indirect prompt injection attacks, whereby aContinue reading “AI Injection Attacks”