Martin R. Albrecht

Martin R. Albrecht, Rikke Bjerg Jensen

The Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual (OSSTMM) provides a "scientific methodology for the accurate characterization of operational security" [Her10, p.13]. It is extensively referenced in writings aimed at security testing professionals such as textbooks, standards and academic papers. In this work we offer a fundamental critique of OSSTMM and argue that it fails to deliver on its promise of actual security. Our contribution is threefold and builds on a textual critique of this methodology. First, OSSTMM's central principle is that security can be understood as a quantity of which an entity has more or less. We show why this is wrong and how OSSTMM's unified security score, the rav, is an empty abstraction. Second, OSSTMM disregards risk by replacing it with a trust metric which confuses multiple definitions of trust and, as a result, produces a meaningless score. Finally, OSSTMM has been hailed for its attention to human security. Yet it understands all human agency as a security threat that needs to be constantly monitored and controlled. Thus, we argue that OSSTMM is neither fit for purpose nor can it be salvaged, and it should be abandoned by security professionals.

Martin R. Albrecht, Miloš Prokop, Yixin Shen et al.

A fundamental computational problem is to find a shortest non-zero vector in Euclidean lattices, a problem known as the Shortest Vector Problem (SVP). This problem is believed to be hard even on quantum computers and thus plays a pivotal role in post-quantum cryptography. In this work we explore how (efficiently) Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices may be used to solve SVP. Specifically, we map the problem to that of finding the ground state of a suitable Hamiltonian. In particular, (i) we establish new bounds for lattice enumeration, this allows us to obtain new bounds (resp.~estimates) for the number of qubits required per dimension for any lattices (resp.~random q-ary lattices) to solve SVP; (ii) we exclude the zero vector from the optimization space by proposing (a) a different classical optimisation loop or alternatively (b) a new mapping to the Hamiltonian. These improvements allow us to solve SVP in dimension up to 28 in a quantum emulation, significantly more than what was previously achieved, even for special cases. Finally, we extrapolate the size of NISQ devices that is required to be able to solve instances of lattices that are hard even for the best classical algorithms and find that with approximately $10^3$ noisy qubits such instances can be tackled.

Martin R. Albrecht, Jorge Blasco, Rikke Bjerg Jensen et al.

The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill protests in Hong Kong present a rich context for exploring information security practices among protesters due to their large-scale urban setting and highly digitalised nature. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 11 participants of these protests. Research findings reveal how protesters favoured Telegram and relied on its security for internal communication and organisation of on-the-ground collective action; were organised in small private groups and large public groups to enable collective action; adopted tactics and technologies that enable pseudonymity; and developed a variety of strategies to detect compromises and to achieve forms of forward secrecy and post-compromise security when group members were (presumed) arrested. We further show how group administrators had assumed the roles of leaders in these 'leaderless' protests and were critical to collective protest efforts.