New Google test auto

Project Wycheproof is "a collection of unit tests that detect known weaknesses or check for expected behaviors of some cryptographic algorithms."

When it comes to encryption, the underlying math is very rarely compromised. Successful crypto hacks typically take advantage of implementation flaws in the software, which uses algorithms to secure data or communications.

Now, Google is out with a new open-source software package designed to run automated checks on crypto implementations, scanning software libraries for known vulnerabilities and flawed implementations.

In a blog post Monday, Google security engineers Daniel Bleichenbacher and Thai Duong introduced Project Wycheproof, “a collection of unit tests that detect known weaknesses or check for expected behaviors of some cryptographic algorithms.”

The initial tests are written in Java, because that language “has a common cryptographic interface. This allowed us to test multiple providers with a single test suite.”

“We are converting as many tests into sets of test vectors to simplify porting the tests to other languages,” they add.

They caution that Project Wycheproof “is by no means complete. Passing the tests does not imply that the library is secure, it just means that it is not vulnerable to the attacks that Project Wycheproof tries to detect.”

Nonetheless, they conclude “developers and users now can check their libraries against a large number of known attacks without having to sift through hundreds of academic papers or become cryptographers themselves.”

The project is named after Australia’s Mount Wycheproof, which, at 141 feet high, is the smallest mountain in the world. The developers said it was because they wanted “an achievable goal … The smaller the mountain, the easier it is to climb it!”

Government

• FBI officials say AI is bolstering adversaries, emphasizing need to focus on cyber basics, patching

• Feds accuse China of ‘systematic’ distillation of U.S. AI models

• CIA’s Michael Ellis says cyber intelligence is changing how the agency operates

• Jail time for Maine child in 764 marks turning point in federal law enforcement

Technology

• FCC proposes public scorecard to rate telecoms on anti-robocall efforts

• Pegasus, NoviSpy variant spyware found on devices of Serbian activists

• Wyden seeks upgraded NSA security guidance on commercial VPN use

• The Collective Cyber Defense letter wrote your next vendor questionnaire

Threats

• Chinese espionage groups swarm to exploit triple-link chain of zero-days

• Microsoft discloses two actively exploited zero-days among 974 vulnerabilities

• Russian national extradited to US for alleged involvement in bank-account takeover scheme

• Attackers exploit zero-days in consistently besieged SonicWall product

Policy

• Whistleblower says USPS deploying new, ‘untested’ IT systems governing mail-in ballots

• ‘Watershed 250’ test program in Texas looks to private sector for water cybersecurity help

• Former sexual abuse victims say Grok used their images, videos to train deepfake capabilities

• Cyber threats nudge Trump to sign executive order on foreign equipment in U.S. energy infrastructure