On a somewhat (un)related note: What has been the reception, if any, from the Korean side in regards to your research? I've lived in Korea on and off for around ten years, and their online 'security' has always both bothered and worried me. It's nice to see someone actually opening up this horrendous and intrusive mess of software and investigating it.
On the individual level, the reception is remarkably positive. I’ve had lots of people thank me for this research, including people working for government agencies.
The news coverage is mixed. Some articles are positive about this and are asking about how to improve this sad state of affairs. Others are parroting statements from the affected companies: not actually bad, difficult to exploit, misunderstanding of the domestic market.
And as to politics, it’s too early to tell I think. This definitely generated much attention. Whether all this attention will actually lead somewhere is impossible to tell at this point.
That's great to hear. Hopefully your Korean colleagues will help bring awareness to this issue as well. I imagine it would probably be hard for politicians to ignore or argue against the consensus of the top minds of the country.
