Bias in Qwen3-Coder Model
Interesting research:
TL;DR: Chinese AI models now sit inside Western products, and some carry geopolitical triggers: tell the model who the code is for, and ... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/bias-in-qwen3-coder-model.html
Friday Squid Blogging: Increasing Squid Populations
This article in Nature argues that it’s due to an overfishing of predators and warming sea temperatures.
As usual... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/friday-squid-blogging-increasing-squid-populations.html
Compromised TLS Certificates
The Indian CA eMudhra Limited has eight TLS certificates with laughably weak private keys:
The co... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/compromised-tls-certificates.html
New Serious PHP Vulnerabilities Released and Patched
PHP maintainers have released two critical vulnerabilities:
PHP 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35 fix two critical vulnerabilities that can allow unauthenticated re... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/new-serious-php-vulnerabilities-released-and-patched.html
Workshop on Economics and Information Security (WEIS) Archive
There’s a new archive of all the papers from twenty-five years of the Workshop on Economics and Information Security (WEIS).
Really nice resource. It’s fun to reread my
Possible new Cellebrite iPhone Radio Zero-Day
Justin.sh is reporting on a confidential Cellebrite document that has been leaked to him:
Cellebrite calls it Advanced Unlocks (AU from here on), not to b... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/possible-new-cellebrite-iphone-radio-zero-day.html
Training AIs to Solve CAPTCHAs
Interesting research:
Abstract: Vision-language models (VLMs) can solve visual CAPTCHAs without task-specific training, but the agents built on them approach every challenge ... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/training-ais-to-solve-captchas.html
Friday Squid Blogging: Squid Before the Chicxulub Meteor Impact
New research shows that s... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/friday-squid-blogging-squid-before-the-chicxulub-meteor-impact.html
Backdooring Open-Weight AI Models
This is a problem:
Any open model whose weights have been edited can carry a backdoor, whether it’s a task-specific fine-tune, a m... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/backdooring-open-weight-ai-models.html
Measuring Human Cryptanalysis Effort
Matthew Green has a new site that tries to estimate the number of cryptanalyst-hours that have been spent analyzing different public-key algorithms:
Abstract: We estimate how much pub... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/measuring-human-cryptanalysis-effort.html
#cost-benefitanalysis #academicpapers #Uncategorized #cryptanalysis #algorithms
Upcoming Speaking Engagements
This is a current list of where and when I am scheduled to speak:
I’m speaking at ATTENTION: Democracy, Rebuilt in Montreal, Canada. The event runs October 21–2... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/upcoming-speaking-engagements-61.html
The Future of AI Cryptanalysis
Matthew Green has been writing
Cyberattack on Connected Fridges in France
Another IoT cyberattack, this one in France:
Hackers gained control of the software that regulates the temperatures of the refrigeration units, forcing some to warm t... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/cyberattack-on-connected-fridges-in-france.html
#InternetofThings #Uncategorized #cyberattack #cybercrime #France
FBI Arrests Suspect in FBI-Hacking Case
In September, hackers from a group called ShinyHunters announced that they stole a trove of FBI data about its own... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/fbi-arrests-suspect-in-fbi-hacking-case.html
Friday Squid Blogging: I Caught a Squid
On Wednesday I spent a day fishing, on a small boat out of Gloucester, MA. We caught many cod (none of which we could keep), and a bunch of hake and mackerel (all of which we could keep). And…I caught a squid! Near as I can tell, it’s ... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/friday-squid-blogging-i-caught-a-squid.html
How Technology Empowers—and Imperils—Dictators
This essay was written with Seva Gunitsky, and originally appeared in Foreign Affairs.
Two weeks after Moscow... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/how-technology-empowers-and-imperils-dictators.html
Apple’s Verified Photography System
Apple just released a system called “Reference Image.” It can verify the image is exactly as taken by an iPhone—new models only—without tying it to a spec... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/apples-verified-photography-system.html
Possible Vulnerability in Apple’s Automatic Reboot
404Media is reporting (alternate link) that a cyber-weapons arms manufacturer is exploiting a vulnerability in... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/possible-vulnerability-in-apples-automatic-reboot.html
#vulnerabilities #lawenforcement #Uncategorized #iPhone #police
Another Historic Cipher Falls to AI
This one is from 1809, written by Napoleon’s nephew.... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/another-historic-cipher-falls-to-ai.html
Friday Squid Blogging: EU is Trying to Fight Unregulated Squid Fishing
The EU is recommending import controls to combat unregulated squid fishing in the Southwest Atlantic. I’m not optimistic.
... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/10/friday-squid-blogging-eu-is-trying-to-fight-unregulated-squid-fishing.html