Computer scientist & journalist, specializing in AI, privacy, ethics, big data, usability and security. My opinions here. ORCID 0000-0003-1294-2831
Somerville, MA
Joined April 2009
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The DigitalCorpora corpus currently hosts approximately 19TB of data, serving as a foundational, free open data resource for the global digital forensics and security research communities.
After 20 years of maintaining this vital community asset, I am seeking a qualified individual, group, or institution to take over and support DigitalCorpora.
More details here:
osdfir.blogspot.com/2026/10/…
I can get bulk_extractor on windows code signed for $120/year. Would this help anybody?
github.com/simsong/bulk_extr…
My email search program is now good enough for people who want to search mbox, Apple mail, and outlook pst files. It doesn’t do imap yet and doesn’t run on windows. what should I make it do next?
simsong.github.io/email-coll…
#digitalhumanities
David Pollak shows how Spice Labs, Inc.'s tool creates CBOMs automatically for doing a post-quantum cryptography audit. youtu.be/kvzw-49tpPs
Full list of file types supported at: github.com/spice-labs-inc/go…
In 1983, Thomas C. Schelling, winner of the 2005 nobel prize in economics, argued that it would be cheaper for the world to accomidate global climate change than to try to prevent it.
There was BROAD SCIENTIFIC AND POLITICAL CONSENSUS IN 1983 THAT CLIMATE CHANGE WAS REAL.
Apparently, I'm not the only person to focus on Schelling's contribution to today's climate disaster. Richard Tol at University of Sussex has just published an article about Schelling's contribution on arXiv:
"The neglected contributions of Thomas C. Schelling to the economics of climate change"
arxiv.org/abs/2607.04322
In Memoriam: Richard E. Stearns (1936-2026)
Stearns was one of the fathers of computational complexity theory.
cacm.acm.org/news/in-memoria…
The U.S. Census Bureau plans to eliminate questions about race and ethnicity on the 2030 Census, according to a leaked draftrule that has received little attention.
“No question about race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation shall appear on the short form decennial census questionnaire or any questionnaire used for the enumeration of the population.”
citylandnyc.org/ny-elections…
Sound advise from @TaliaRinger
bulk_extractor 2.2.0 is out: a security and reliability release fixing CVE-2026-24857, with a standalone 64-bit Windows build, Windows raw-device input, runtime scanner plug-ins, improved Wi-Fi PCAP handling, and more.
github.com/simsong/bulk_extr…
#DFIR #DigitalForensics
Developed with Codex.
I saw exceptions from bulk_extractor’s winpe scanner in a logfile. I asked Codex to reproduce them, trace execution, find the cause, and prepare a tested fix.
It did: github.com/simsong/bulk_extr…
A thread 🧵
ALT Graphic titled Developed with Codex: AI-assisted software maintenance. A flow shows logfile, trace, fix, and regression test for bulk_extractor PR 674.
15/ Codex moved quickly because the program already expressed its safety boundaries and component contracts clearly. AI did not replace software engineering here. It amplified years of investment in excellent software structure.
ALT Graphic titled AI amplified good structure, contrasting bounded data access, modular scanners, and diagnostics with separate recorders, real fixtures, and focused tests.
16/ The fix is merged in PR #674.
bulk_extractor 2.2.0beta1 is available now, including a precompiled 64-bit Windows executable, source archive, and Snap packages:
github.com/simsong/bulk_extr…
ALT bulk_extractor 2.2.0beta1 download graphic listing a precompiled Windows x64 executable, source archive, and Snap packages.