On: Working with Qubes OS at the Guardian

[cangeroo]

Is anyone else using Qubes OS or airgapping at work? E.g. finance, trading, ... ?

Do you use specialized equipment and processes, e.g. PDF-to-PNG rendering, one-way diodes, and such?

Also, I'm surprised to hear so many stories about crypto theft. Aren't there any airgapped solutions? And why aren't they mainstream?

[112233 → cangeroo]

I was using Qubes, but not for security — their backup/restore is like nothing else.

[karma_pharmer → cangeroo]

Recommendation: use QR codes (output, displayed on-screen) and webcams (input).

Safer than swapping around thumbdrives, harder to screw up.

[greggsy → cangeroo]

People using ‘cold’ hardware wallets are air gapping crypto to a degree. It’s really just offline key storage, which is as old as IT itself.

They’re not mainstream because crypto isn’t mainstream outside of the crypto-bro community, mainly because it’s inconvenient for both parties trying to make a sale or purchase.

I’ll tell you what is mainstream though: chip+pin and nfc+bio, which in combination with a ‘good enough‘ key storage and interrogation regime, are a decent balance between convenience and security.