Systems, security and the edges inbetween

Hacknix is my technical notebook and public workshop: Linux, networks, protocols, security, communications, architecture and distributed systems. Some of it records current work; some is a deliberately preserved archive of earlier experiments, investigations and conclusions.

The common thread is an interest in how systems actually behave, where their authority and trust really sit, and whether their controls fit the purpose and consequence of the system.

Current work

My current technical work centres on architecture, security and governance for high-assurance systems, including product and security assessment, secure and resilient data exchange, identity, trust and provenance. I also remain active in open-source systems and protocol work. My broader professional profile is at adlem.net.

An honest archive

The historical articles retain their original wording. Where evidence or understanding has changed, I add a clearly separated present-day note rather than making the old text appear more polished or prescient than it was.

Personal writing

Recipes and non-technical writing will live separately at notes.hacknix.net. That separation lets Hacknix remain a focused technical workshop without pretending the other material never existed.

From the archive

All articles

  1. The recent "cyber attack" and the implications on the healthcare industry.

    A 2017 healthcare-security article retained with an explicit correction and architectural retrospective.

  2. Online TLS key generation.

    A concise argument about private-key custody and the trust implied by key generation.

  3. Diaspora* - a new social media platform

    An early look at federation, user-controlled hosting and avoiding unnecessary central control.

  4. New Experian service a risk to your privacy and personal security?

    A 2012 examination of profiling, privacy, identity verification, retention and third-party data use.

  5. Qsmtp - all new, improved qmail.

    Hands-on Qmail modification and integration involving IPv6, recipient validation, SPF and DNS blocklists.

  6. IPv6 switchover - are corporates taking it seriously?

    An early look at IPv6 transition planning, technical debt and the organisational consequences of delay.

  7. Hi. Welcome to hacknix.net.

    The original Hacknix introduction and a contemporary statement of its technical and security identity.