(from Cryptogram)

At DefCon earlier this month, a group was able to set up an unamplified
802.11 network at a distance of 124.9 miles.
http://www.enterpriseitplanet.com/networking/news/article.php/3524491
http://pasadena.net/shootout05/
Even more important, the world record for communicating with a passive RFID
device was set at 69 feet. Remember that the next time someone tells you
that it's impossible to read RFID identity cards at a distance.
http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2005/08/both_black_hat_.html
http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2005/07/_defcon_rfid_wo.html
Whenever you hear a manufacturer talk about a distance limitation for any
wireless technology -- wireless LANs, RFID, Bluetooth, anything -- assume
he's wrong. If he's not wrong today, he will be in a couple of years. Assume
that someone who spends some money and effort building more sensitive
technology can do much better, and that it will take less money and effort
over the years. Technology always gets better; it never gets worse. If
something is difficult and expensive now, it will get easier and cheaper in
the future.

This New York Times op-ed argues that panic is largely a myth. People feel
stressed but they behave rationally, and it only gets called "panic" because
of the stress.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/07/opinion/07fischhoff.html

Interesting article: "The Hidden Boot Code of the Xbox, or How to fit three
bugs in 512 bytes of security code."
http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/The_Hidden_Boot_Code_of_the_Xbox
Microsoft wanted to lock out both pirated games and unofficial games, so
they built a chain of trust on the Xbox from the hardware to the execution
of the game code. Only code authorized by Microsoft could run on the Xbox.
The link between hardware and software in this chain of trust is the hidden
"MCPX" boot ROM. The article discusses that ROM. Lots of kindergarten
security mistakes.

An attorney in Australia has successfully used the MD5 Defense -- the fact
that the hash function is broken -- to fight a highway camera that
photographs speeders.
http://theage.com.au/articles/2005/08/10/1123353368652.html
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,16204811-1242,00.htm
This is interesting. It's true that MD5 is broken. On the other hand, it's
almost certainly true that the speed cameras were correct. If there's any
lesson here, it's that theoretical security is important in legal
proceedings. I think that's a good thing.
http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-0409.html#3