Episode
Why This Security Expert Doesn't Use a Phone (Buskill Interview)
- Podcast
- Techlore Talks
- Published
- Nov 22, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 3774
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://share.transistor.fm/s/9e3ff48d
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Summary
Even with encryption and 2FA, if someone steals your logged-in laptop, you're compromised. Michael Altfield created Buskill - an open source USB "dead man switch" - to solve this analog attack vector. In this interview, you’ll hear about the real incidents that inspired it, the advocacy work that fueled it, and the collaborative engineering efforts that turned it into a practical tool for protecting sensitive data. 🔗 SOURCES & LINKS • https://tech.michaelaltfield.net/ • https://buskill.in/ • https://github.com/BusKill ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 INTRO 00:01:43 WHAT GOT YOU INTO SECURITY? 00:02:32 WHEN DID YOU GET INTO SECURITY? 00:03:31 WHAT IS A DEAD MAN SWITCH? 00:04:33 WHY DID YOU DEVELOP BUSKILL? 00:06:25 WHEN DID YOU START MAKING BUSKILL CABLES? 00:06:42 HAS THE PRODUCT CHANGED SINCE THEN? 00:07:42 WHO ELSE IS BUSKILL FOR? 00:09:08 WHAT OPTIONS CAN BE TRIGGERED? 00:10:53 IS IT POSSIBLE TO TRIGGER A FALSE OR ALTERNATIVE ENVIRONMENT? 00:12:16 CAN YOU WIPE ON WINDOWS OR MACOS? 00:13:40 LINUX INSTALL OPTIONS 00:14:16 MACOS & WINDOWS INSTALL OPTIONS 00:14:25 CAN THIS BE DONE ON MOBILE? 00:16:39 REAL-WORLD BUSKILL EXAMPLES 00:18:13 BUSKILL COMMUNITY 00:19:17 BUSKILL + OPEN SOURCE 00:19:44 STL FILES + 3D PRINTING 00:20:38 IS IT GOOD TO CREATE IT YOURSELF? 00:20:50 INTERDICTION 00:21:42 EDWARD SNOWDEN ON INTERDICTION 00:23:24 OTHER ACQUISITION METHODS 00:25:13 NOVACUSTOM PARTNERSHIP 00:26:00 BUSKILL + NICHE LINUX DISTROS 00:26:57 QUBES DOM0 00:28:27 UBUNTU & TAILS 00:30:02 DOES BUSKILL SUPPORT CHROMEBOOKS? 00:31:19 GETTING INVOLVED IN PRIVACY + ADVOCACY 00:33:05 HOW PRIVACY IS VIEWED WORLDWIDE 00:36:55 PERSONAL CHALLENGES WITH PRIVACY 00:39:11 GO-TO PRIVACY & SECURITY TIPS 00:40:11 BUSKILL + SECURITY KEYS? 00:43:06 SECURITY THROUGH OBSCURITY 00:45:25 CLOUD-BASE…