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7 stories in the last 7d

Differential Trust: Dynamic Multi-Authority Anonymous Credentials with Epoch-Weighted Updates

Researchers propose MA-ACEW, the first multi-authority anonymous credential model with epoch-weighted issuance and efficient cross-epoch credential updates.

The paper introduces MA-ACEW, a multi-authority anonymous credential scheme that weights authorities differently during credential issuance, targeting decentralized systems such as Proof-of-Stake networks. Its core primitive, Epoch-Bound Pointcheval-Sanders Signatures (EB-PS), binds signatures to time epochs, enabling non-interactive credential updates when authority weight distributions change. The authors formalize EUF-eCMA unforgeability and prove unforgeability, anonymity, and blindness under a novel STB-GPS assumption. Aggregating a credential from 128 partial credentials takes about 10.68 ms on average.

arXiv cs.CR · 1d agoResearch

Sociotechnical Aspects of Tor Relay Rejection

User study and simulations of Tor's relay end-of-life rejection policy find operators favor it; network churn affects anonymity more than EoL exclusions.

The study examines the Tor Project's 2019 end-of-life policy that rejects outdated relays, which constitute a notable fraction of consensus weight. A user study of 26 relay operators found they generally view the policy favorably despite limited awareness, though operational practices occasionally exclude newly installed relays. Historical-data-driven simulations show the policy gives adversaries only marginal advantage, with network churn exerting a more pronounced effect on user anonymity. Analysis of four exclusion rounds shows a minority of rejected relays typically account for over 50% of the security provided by all excluded relays, informing EoL policy recommendations.

arXiv cs.CR · 4d agoResearch

Hardcoded MCP credentials found in public GitHub files

Hush Security found 12% of 82,000 public GitHub MCP config files contained hardcoded API keys, bearer tokens, and database passwords.

Hush Security's 'The State of MCP Configuration: The Identity Security Gaps' report analyzed roughly 82,000 MCP configuration files in public GitHub repositories, finding that 12% of credential slots contained hardcoded credential literals. Researchers used provider-specific token patterns and Shannon entropy to identify likely secrets, predominantly vendor API keys, bearer tokens, and database passwords. Of 7,681 credential-bearing configurations whose history was examined, 243 had secrets removed from the current file but still recoverable from earlier Git commits. Many exposed credentials were high-impact: 53% of classified credentials granted organization-, account-, workspace-, or database-wide access, and 80% with a defined expiration policy did not expire by default.

Forgery of C2PA on a Pixel 10

Researcher forged a Google Pixel 10 C2PA content credential with genuine signatures, showing root-level attackers can fake photo provenance.

A Hacker Factor blog post demonstrates an AI-generated 'unicorn glitter milk' news photo carrying a valid, cryptographically signed C2PA manifest traceable to Google's Pixel camera certificate chain, passing validation in Adobe Inspect and the CAI Verify tool with a verified timestamp. The author, working with UMBC's PASAWG working group, reported to Google and C2PA in November 2025 that root access on a Pixel device could sign arbitrary images as camera captures; after 90 days without resolution, details were published. The finding undermines C2PA Assurance Level 2 claims made for Pixel 10 Content Credentials.

Lobsters · security · 2d agoResearch

Apple Reference Image: A New Approach for Verified Photography

Apple introduces Reference Image, hardware-backed verifiable photography on iPhone 18 Pro using sensor signing and Private Cloud Compute to counter AI-generated fakes.

Apple announced Reference Image, an opt-in camera mode debuting on the main sensor of iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max that produces securely timestamped, verifiable photographs. The design splits into two phases: a secure digital negative created by cryptographically signing pixel data at the sensor immediately after capture (preventing injection or tampering), then developing that negative into a reference image. Private Cloud Compute handles processing without exposing image contents to anyone, including Apple, and fraudulent reference images can be revoked without revealing the photographer's identity. Apple positions the system as stronger than C2PA-based approaches, which sign metadata after capture, are vulnerable to editing-chain compromise, and can tie images to a device or individual.

Evaluating the NIST Bugs Framework Against CWE as a Successor for Automated Vulnerability Classification

NIST Bugs Framework evaluation shows it is more structured and automation-friendly than CWE for automated vulnerability classification, with gaps in attribute guidance.

The paper evaluates NIST SP 800-231's Bugs Framework (BF) against CWE as a target for automated CVE classification using a systematically screened corpus of CVE-to-CWE research. An inter-rater study with 2 subject-matter experts mapping 13 CVEs showed strong agreement on BF's cause and operation axes but only fair agreement on the attribute axis. Automated classification was tested across two LLM deployments under different budgets, and findings support BF as more structured and automation-friendly than CWE, though gaps include under-specified attribute guidance and missing fix commits for closed-source software.

arXiv cs.CR · 3d agoResearch1

When the Whole Company Adopts AI: What It Does to Your SOC

Analysis of 16.9 million SOC alerts finds AI-related alerts at 0.43%, growing 685% since February, with 94.1% noise and 0.02% real attacks.

A review of roughly 16.9 million SOC alerts found about 73,000 (0.43%) were AI-related, a share that grew 685% between February and June 2026. Of AI-related alerts, 94.1% were noise, 5.8% genuine risks, and 0.02% real attacks; 79.8% received benign verdicts, 81.7% were automatically suppressed, and only 5.4% reached a human analyst. The only confirmed attacks were phishing campaigns that weaponized AI brand names as lures, while developer coding agents spawning shells and reading credential stores routinely tripped detections written before AI agents existed.

The Hacker News · 6d agoResearch2