In the recent weeks we got increasing questions on the status and future of the project. Other than our website might indicate, we are continuously developing but we should do better in order to keep you updated. Now, let's give you an overview:
Crypto Stick has been accepted for Google Summer of Code (GSOC) 2013. In previous years we got into GSOC under the umbrella of the FOSS Asia project but now we were accepted as a main organization! If you don't know what GSOC is, it means that Google will sponsor several students developing on the Crypto Stick.
We are in the process of cleaning up our online shop system and would need help of a PHP developer. Specifically we would need a simple Prestashop module to integrate the mailing list and we need to import data from Magento. Are you a PHP developer and would generously contribute at least a few hours to help us? No other specific experience is required. Be guaranteed that you are more than welcome! Please get in contact with us.
Researchers found vulnerabilities of self-encrypted SSDs. From the abstract: "Self-encrypting drives (SEDs), such as Intel's SSD 320 and 520 series, are widely believed to be a fast and secure alternative to software-based solutions like TrueCrypt and BitLocker. [...] In this sense, hardware-based full disk encryption (FDE) is as insecure as software-based FDE. We also show that (2) there exists a new class of attacks that is specific to hardware-based FDE [Full Disk Encryption].
On our journey towards the next version we decided to buy a soldering oven and give it a try. It enables us to assemble the hardware ourself but we weren't sure if it works especially with BGA components as we use it. After adapting the soldering curve and trying different soldering fluxs our third try works successfully. See the attached pictures.
You may not have heard about the Crypto Stick 2 in the recent time but a lot of things are going on under the hood. Let me share a few updates of our progress towards Crypto Stick 2 during the past few months:
Because the popular online payment solutions are expensive and privacy-unfriendly, we are happy to announce Bitcoin as a new payment method. From now on you can purchase the Crypto Stick in our online shop by paying with Bitcoins. Enjoy.
For the second time we are in Google Summer of Code (GSoC) as a subproject of FOSSASIA. This means students can get scholarship to code for the Crypto Stick. Here are a couple of ideas of interesting projects but you are free to suggest your own as well.
