If you believe that paper books are free from internet censorship, think again. Books aren’t hand copied by monks anymore, they’re printed from a digital source, in just a handful of places. This digital format is what allows censorship to take place just before a book hits the physical press. In the process of trying… Continue reading Amazon and the Dystopian Future of Book Censorship
How to Sell a PDF Privately with ⚡
You’re at a garage sale and see a wonderful recipe book. “How much? $5? Sweet!”. The seller gives you a form where you fill out your home address, date of birth, a list of websites you recently visited, and several written testimonies from companies you purchased from before, to confirm you would never use stolen… Continue reading How to Sell a PDF Privately with ⚡
Attacking Bitcoin — Eclipse Attacks
An eclipse attack is a type of attack that isolates a Bitcoin node by occupying all of its connection slots to block the node from receiving any transactions and blocks, other than those sent to it by the attacker. This prevents the node from seeing what’s going on in the Bitcoin network, and it potentially… Continue reading Attacking Bitcoin — Eclipse Attacks
How to deal with Corona
I spent an inordinate amount of time this year subtweeting articles, commenting on policy and discussing corona with folks on Twitter. Because I read studies and listened to weeks worth of podcast content on the topic in three languages (e.g. Das Coronavirus Update and This Week in Virology) I’d like to believe I have at… Continue reading How to deal with Corona
Mask math for fun
I wanted to get an order of magnitude sense of the utility of non-medical masks. Specifically their usefulness against floating droplets at a reasonable distance, and not from someone coughing loudly; those people can easily be avoided. In addition I focus on short term exposure. In other words, should I worry when waiting in an… Continue reading Mask math for fun
North Korea’s “Cryptocurrency-1”
North Korea’s “Cryptocurrency-1” Cryptocurrency developer Virgil F. was arrested a few days ago at Los Angeles International Airport. Arresting travelers at the airport right before they leave appears to be a thing for the FBI, e.g. a OneCoin founder was arrested at the same airport on his way out, and Malware Tech was arrested at… Continue reading North Korea’s “Cryptocurrency-1”
Cargo Cult veldexperiment
Cargo Cult veldexperiment NRC schreef onlangs in hun redactioneel commentaar: Interessanter is de benadering die de Nederlandse denktank Sustainable Finance Lab (SFL) deze maand suggereerde. Nederland is volgens het SFL bij uitstek een geschikt land om te experimenteren met een door de centrale bank gecontroleerde digitale munt, omdat het gebruik van cash in ons land… Continue reading Cargo Cult veldexperiment
Privacy, proportionaliteit en subsidiariteit
Privacy, proportionaliteit en subsidiariteit Onderstaande is een fragment uit de brief die ik in januari 2019 gestuurd heb naar Minister Hoekstra (Financiën) via de internet consultatie Implementatiewet Wijziging Vierde Anti-Witwasrichtlijn. De gehele brief is hier te lezen. De voorgestelde wet is nog steeds in behandeling. Uit recente voorstellen zoals het delen van identiteitsgegevens van cryptocurrency… Continue reading Privacy, proportionaliteit en subsidiariteit
Van wie is deze bitcoin? — Deel II
Van wie is deze bitcoin? — Deel II Ik hou rechtspraak.nl in de gaten op uitspraken die iets met Bitcoin te maken hebben. De site publiceert slechts een selectie van alle zaken, waar ik in september 2018 al eens over schreef in het artikel Van wie is deze bitcoin? Een van de dingen die me opvalt is het… Continue reading Van wie is deze bitcoin? — Deel II
A Crime on Testnet
This post is featured in my book Bitcoin – A Work in Progress. On a warm summer day I crave a frappuccino. Unfortunately drugs such as caffeine, sugar and cacao were declared illegal decades ago. This happened because young unemployed college graduates often felt triggered by loud caffeinated rich people. Sugar was causing mass obesity… Continue reading A Crime on Testnet