Soatok Dreamseeker

He/him. Gay/demi dhole (Cuon Alpinus) furry.

Blogger, programmer, security engineer, cryptography nerd. 30+

Too spicy for Twitter (banned with all the prominent journalists on 2022-12-16)

I don't represent any company, individual, or community.

Public Key

npub17uyfsxsnfgg6dgqazlfjv2gdl235mq0dug9wq6kjq9ngzh6pdyese4305p

NIP-05 Address

soatok@furry-engineer.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs0wzycrgf55ydx5qw305ex9yxl4g6ds8k7yzhqdtfqze5ptaqkjvcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsfzv2aw

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub17uyfsxsnfgg6dgqazlfjv2gdl235mq0dug9wq6kjq9ngzh6pdyese4305p

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Last Notes

2026-10-29 07:48:08 UTC

Your Cryptography Conspiracy Theory Is Wrong
This conversation plays out hundreds of times a day, but (thankfully) only a handful of those involve me:...
http://soatok.blog/2026/10/29/your-cryptography-conspiracy-theory-is-wrong/

2026-10-23 06:05:29 UTC

Me looking at my phone at 2 AM to see yet another political spam message:
"Christ, what an asshole"

2026-10-22 02:35:49 UTC

After a bit of back and forth with IETF, Justin Richer got the wording updated to be acceptable.
As soon as IANA updates, we will have stable specifications for post-quantum signature algorithms for HTTP Message Signatures (RFC 9420).
https://c2sp.org/httpsig-pq@v1.0.1

2026-10-21 13:49:49 UTC

Embargo is lifted. #PHP #CVSS10 #infosec
https://github.com/php/php-src/security/advisories/GHSA-w8hw-w9fx-j79w
https://github.com/php/php-src/security/advisories/GHSA-6wmf-4rv5-p3rp

2026-10-21 03:37:25 UTC

Four, score, and seven single-byte keys ago...

2026-10-20 16:44:36 UTC

They did the XKCD thing!
https://glauca.space/@q/117474051360413376

2026-10-20 15:39:48 UTC

Root CA compromised
https://emudhra.we-have-a-problem.com/
#webpki #infosec #security #cryptography

2026-10-15 15:42:56 UTC

Woke: an 80,000 word novel that doesn'r use the letter E
Anti-woke: an 80,000 word novel that doesn't use pronouns

2026-10-15 13:02:16 UTC

It's kind of a shame that Dawkins is like that because a blog post about people's relationship with technology titled "The Claude Delusion" would go hard

2026-10-13 17:35:48 UTC

Me in 2022: https://soatok.blog/2022/09/09/should-you-delete-your-patreon-account-after-they-laid-off-their-entire-security-team/
Patreon in 2026: https://cloudisland.nz/@xssfox/117432348441927134

2026-10-12 04:25:35 UTC

https://soatok.itch.io/copper-and-ember/devlog/1703182/v003-various-bug-fixes
#CopperAndEmber #RPG #indiedev #indiegame #indiegamedev #RPGMakerMZ #furry #furrygames

2026-10-09 18:50:31 UTC

Copper & Ember
I'm publicly releasing a demo of my little indie game project, Copper & Ember.
https://soatok.itch.io/copper-and-ember

2026-10-08 15:22:13 UTC

@nprofile…7n2w

2026-10-06 11:42:07 UTC

I'm very glad there are so many smart people that can figure hard shit out for the rest of us

2026-10-06 05:04:55 UTC

Is 1:04 AM on a Tuesday the ideal time to watch a YouTube video about mathematics?
We're about to find out.

2026-10-05 20:45:54 UTC

OpenAI doesn't want you talking about gay furry cryptography bloggers

2026-10-04 23:49:45 UTC

https://soatok.blog/2026/10/02/touching-grass-isnt-enough-the-furry-fandoms-issues-are-structural/#structural
I am extremely disappointed that I needed to actually clarify this. For fuck sake.

2026-10-03 21:52:45 UTC

I made a few small edits, including adding a small blurb under the embedded TikTok video to address a little bit of pushback I've gotten.

2026-10-02 20:37:26 UTC

Touching Grass Isn’t Enough: The Furry Fandom’s Issues Are Structural
The problems with the furry fandom today are not as simple as,"Furries need to touch grass!"...
http://soatok.blog/2026/10/02/touching-grass-isnt-enough-the-furry-fandoms-issues-are-structural/

2026-09-28 06:34:44 UTC

Judging from how folks talk about a fur that passed away recently, as heartwrenchingly sad as that is, it's also a little inspiring.
If one could touch even a hundredth the number of lives he did, in such a positive and uplifting way? Then you're doing incredibly goddamn good.

2026-09-28 06:02:13 UTC

Y'know what? Who needs sleep anyway?
...
meekly, "I do......"

2026-09-27 19:30:57 UTC

I can't find the time or energy to do any hobby projects these days

2026-09-27 07:28:01 UTC

Perspective is hilarious and makes life interesting.

2026-09-25 23:02:50 UTC

Since I haven't seen any mention on Fedi, y'all should be aware that Jaiy Deer (gooeydeer.com) has died.
His partner, Pocket, posted about it on BlueSky.
https://bsky.app/profile/pocketgrok.com/post/3mwei7f6td22b

2026-09-25 00:53:21 UTC

This is an interesting video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66wen6C4UNw

2026-09-24 21:15:31 UTC

I blocked instead of replying to someone, but it needs to be stated:
Sorry, no, 30% of the world population doesn't believe in conspiracy theories. They're fringe and cringe in equal measure.
If you want to defend right-wing conspiracy theories to me, don't. Unfollow, mute, block, some combination thereof. Whatever floats your boat.

2026-09-23 01:28:13 UTC

Every time you here someone talk about "porn addiction" or "sex addiction", remind them that those things aren't real.
They're about as scientific as believing vaccines cause autism, or that the Earth is flat.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(17)30441-8/fulltext
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11930-014-0016-8
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272735820301136

2026-09-22 16:36:48 UTC

Recommended read especially for Colorado furries
https://dogpatch.press/2026/09/21/jacob-kovar/
CW: sexual abuse mentions (animal, child, etc.), crimes, community and convention leaders covering for abusers, and other sorts of badness

2026-09-22 03:03:12 UTC

lmao I'm actually named in the acknowledgements of an RFC
https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc10032.html#name-acknowledgments

2026-09-20 23:19:48 UTC

@nprofile…xgry More data points pointing to "a threat model is needed": https://bsky.app/profile/thisismissem.social/post/3mvy76ijbtc2x

2026-09-20 06:07:44 UTC

As I wrote in July, I expect to start wrapping up the outstanding planned Fedi work soon.
https://soatok.blog/2026/07/15/the-long-tail-of-work-left-until-activitypub-has-e2ee/
I expect an uphill.battle getting any traction or adoption. Lots of committee bikeshedding and gatekeeping. It will be stupid and frustrating and exhausting. Don't be too surprised if the Matrix or XMPP folks jump in to try to make life harder. Like, "you should require a paid cryptography audit before you consider adoption, like Matrix did years ago" kind of bullshit (with the expectation that I also personally fund it). And even when that quagmire is over, I fully expect message board discussions to be full of stupid FUD arguments that will convince non-technical people to believe weird shit about my work or my character.
I fully expect these behaviors because it serves their self-interest, and existing power dynamics in the FOSS space.

2026-09-11 20:01:35 UTC

Wake up, Fedi, new Matrix attack just dropped.
https://lotte.chir.rs/ly/l/megolm-key-confusion
Research by @nprofile…h8rl

2026-09-09 09:10:58 UTC

This feels too true https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVhLZQZwYbc

2026-09-07 08:26:33 UTC

I haven't had the energy to write anything long and permanent in a couple of months.
I also haven't really been doing much maintenance for my open source projects. Fortunately, nobody has reported bugs that I'm aware of.

2026-09-03 19:26:35 UTC

DHH is a bad person and I hope he runs out of money and influence before he has the chance to hurt anyone

2026-09-03 19:21:08 UTC

You're on the air. What's your question.
Hi, are you woke?
Well, success in cryptography is largely driven by not being asleep at the wheel. So, you'd better fucking hope I am.

2026-08-28 21:54:40 UTC

In 2027, I'd like to be done with my current project and move onto newer ones.

2026-08-28 00:58:47 UTC

Days since someone insisted my blog is NSFW: [0]
https://old.reddit.com/r/cryptography/comments/1vt1b0l/what_exactly_is_in_cryptography/p6bmm81/?context=4

2026-08-27 23:02:23 UTC

It's amazing how lazy and misleading an org can be at their PR campaign and still get believed by people who claim to be technical

2026-08-26 16:02:59 UTC

Dolly Parton dies at 80.
Several Internet users make a meme / joke, "wrong 80 year old". The next day, Tim Curry dies at 80.
https://www.tmz.com/2026/08/26/tim-curry-dead

2026-08-26 06:19:06 UTC

Matrix apologists cannot fucking read, I swear.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49435728#49444684

2026-08-24 03:59:00 UTC

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@nprofile…estj nooo why do I gotta choose?

2026-08-21 18:20:01 UTC

About to suit up and head down
#megaplex2026

2026-08-21 00:16:34 UTC

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@nprofile…5a29 https://soatok.blog/encrypted-messaging-apps/

2026-08-19 02:48:44 UTC

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@nprofile…jk49 Thankfully, my job mostly consists of telling people their cryptography is broken, so it's not like much will break without me.

2026-08-18 20:24:40 UTC

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@nprofile…pmn8 It's internal stuff, and they all know lol

2026-08-18 20:12:34 UTC

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I planned this PTO months ago, so I could go to Megaplex + have time to relax before/after at home.
Now it's 4:12 and I've got a bunch of PRs waiting for peer review that, if they aren't just simply accepted and merged, will be neglected for more than a week. Bwahaha.

2026-08-18 20:09:28 UTC

Why does the last hour of work before a vacation take so long?

2026-08-17 14:46:05 UTC

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@nprofile…dm6m Eh, I only say that one out loud when it's situationally appropriate.

2026-08-17 08:14:24 UTC

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I hope to get a bunch of pics at Megaplex
So I can show you all :3
And maybe even give some of you hugs??

2026-08-17 08:11:34 UTC

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Not exactly winning any awards in wordsmithing there but gosh he's so handsome :3

2026-08-17 08:09:41 UTC

As good as I sometimes am with words, how it feels to have my fursuit and be able to wear him whenever I want? Sooooo damm good.

2026-08-17 08:02:20 UTC

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If nothing else, remember this:
If you find yourself looking up to people, you're straining your neck in the wrong direction. Look laterally.

2026-08-17 07:55:13 UTC

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If anyone feels like they'd be more successful at decoding social rituals than I am, I implore you to try. You'll probably succeed where I do not, and that is certainly valuable on its own merits.
And for anyone else who's somewhat new to infosec:
Y'know that whole notion of hierarchy that schools try to instill into you your whole life? It's mostly bogus. If you measure enough independent attributes, we all tend towards mediocrity.
If you feel like "your technical depth must be this impressive to belong at the table", I promise you that's false.
Hell, most of the time I'm just glad to not be dealing with someone ignorant who thinks they know better because they just read a 1990s cryptography textbook.

2026-08-17 07:49:06 UTC

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@nprofile…6cuy aww thanks <3

2026-08-17 07:40:34 UTC

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Ultimately, these limitations (and many related ones with a similar shape) are probably what hold me back from excellence.
They're certainly going to stop me from ever becoming famous (though that might be a blessing, heh).
Like, I'm really quite bad with names. This can annoy the hell out of people.
I can remember "the person who was working on a potential novel attack that, if successful, threatens lattice cryptography" but don't ask me to remember their name unless I've worked with them for at least 6 months.
Ironically, the furry community is more amenable to me. With all the secret suits and alt sonas for the same people, I just have to remember "this lynx and that panda are the same person, and they have X, Y, and Z interests and A, B, and C kinks" which are all idea shaped factoids not social shaped, so I can remember them easily.

2026-08-17 07:28:46 UTC

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One might be tempted to counter, "OK, but why do you ____?" where the blank is something related to my furry fandom activities.
And that's a fair question. One I can answer at length, because I've thought a lot about such things over the years.

2026-08-17 07:20:17 UTC

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Of course, the most you can expect anyone to do is meet you halfway.
Consider the case of sports fans. Try as I might, I doubt I'll get much answer to, "So what exactly do you expect to accomplish by shouting instructions at your TV? The game is taking place halfway across the continent and is being played by athletes who live and breathe [sport], right?"
They just shake their head and call me some kind of insult.

2026-08-17 07:11:18 UTC

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I'm sure someone reading this will bristle a bit at how I feel about a large swath of humanity.
"Aren't you supposed to try to empathize with them and see where they're coning from?"
Probably, yeah, and I'm certainly failing them. The limitations of mere mortals like myself sure isn't helping with any of the myriad problems we face in the world.
But I'm not the entire tech industry. I'm just one guy.
Someone out there are folks who can get through to the parasocial-prone far better than I ever will.
(And infosec needs you, if you're reading this.)

2026-08-17 07:04:52 UTC

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At the core of the rift in the example I gave, some people are enticed by the allure of scandal.
"Did you know [Some Fucking Guy] did something that will let you trash talk him and feel morally superior the next time his name comes up in conversation?" just doesn't appeal to me.
I'm interested in ideas and how to use those ideas to help the people who are actually a part of my life.
I'm prone to, when confronted with "people talk", ask questions that none of them are usually prepared to answer. Like:
Is this the most pressing matter to you right now?
Why does her choice in romantic or sexual partners speak to you? How does it influence your self-perception? Your place in society?
If you had the same opportunity, what choice would you have made?
Or the more pressing question: Who fucking cares what cosenting adults do behind closed doors?

2026-08-17 06:57:23 UTC

I keep finding myself in situations where I explain my job to someone new to infosec and they look a bit disappointed that I emphasize active listening skills rather than increasingly difficult topics in mathematics or programming languages to study.
I sometimes joke that 50% of my job is "a weird form of group therapy", because I don't know how else to describe it to folks who never developed the requisite social skills.
Technical competence matters, but is not alone sufficient to carry you in most workplaces. Being an irritating asshole all the time is a net negative. Being an irritating asshole when you need to be is still useful, of course.
But I'm not exactly an extrovert, myself, either. And there are plenty of everyday social norms that frustrate the hell out of me.
For example: I cannot relate to people that routinely buy celebrity gossip magazines. No amount of communication skills will bridge this gulf. Y'all are a lost cause to me.

2026-08-16 21:30:53 UTC

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@nprofile…4nnf So, need a henchman? To help with the, uh, werewolves??

2026-08-16 20:29:28 UTC

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@nprofile…ql5m yup

2026-08-16 19:49:12 UTC

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@nprofile…ql5m https://furry.engineer/system/media_attachments/files/117/056/437/440/824/075/original/1f28cedd073e8ab5.jpg

2026-08-13 17:51:49 UTC

This is cool! https://github.com/xoreaxeaxeax/skitter-creek-bath-salts

2026-08-13 05:57:34 UTC

I got exactly one (1) fursuit pic at DEFCON so far an I'm extremely happy with that :3

2026-08-13 01:50:35 UTC

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@nprofile…3tsk sigh https://www.reddit.com/r/GreatBritishMemes/comments/1vmmxtp/never_change_uk/

2026-08-12 23:50:45 UTC

I think Chapter 6 is going to take place in the Holiday Manor. Ice Palace, as it were. Plus, it allows Susie to gather the missing shelter codes.
I think Chapter 7 is going to be in the Shelter, which (keeping the nostalgia themes going) is going to start as a retelling of UNDERTALE. But probably with a fake-out halfway through it. This is going to be played as lighthearted. And then 7B would be a darker take on that.
I could be very wrong about both points, but since Toby's latest newsletter said he thinks fan theorizing is very cool, I thought I'd write down what I think is going to happen in Ch 6 & 7.

2026-08-12 17:04:44 UTC

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@nprofile…l264 @nprofile…637m What is a Turbine but a spict Fan?

2026-08-12 17:01:49 UTC

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@nprofile…637m Yeah, I have an OF.
Oblivious [pseudorandon] Function!

2026-08-12 15:36:21 UTC

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@nprofile…3tsk The non-vulgar answer to "where the sun don't shine"

2026-08-11 22:42:09 UTC

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@nprofile…nc69 DEFCON was me debuting him in full!

2026-08-11 18:04:53 UTC

Looks like they finally shipped key transparency in Signal:
https://signal.org/blog/automatic-key-verification/

2026-08-11 16:18:01 UTC

Wait, someone actually made a furry bullet hell? https://store.steampowered.com/app/3337840/No_Need_for_Flowers/

2026-08-11 15:29:23 UTC

Back home from DEFCON!
It was great meeting so many cool people :3

2026-08-09 21:15:19 UTC

#defcon34 Suiting up one last time!

2026-08-09 01:27:18 UTC

I'm peobably going to leave in an hour or so to check out the main DEFCON conference space.

2026-08-09 00:43:43 UTC

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Just arrived!

2026-08-08 23:32:23 UTC

If you're at #DEFCON34 and want to hang out with a dhole, I'm going to be getting in suit and heading to the Pirahna Night Club for the @nprofile…5q2f events soon.
(But first, shower.)

2026-08-08 23:05:01 UTC

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@nprofile…cjqk Yes!

2026-08-08 00:30:28 UTC

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@nprofile…dc70
Head was made by https://bsky.app/profile/primordedesigns.bsky.social
Body by DrakonicKnight

2026-08-07 21:51:45 UTC

Happy #FursuitFriday from #DEFCON!
Photographer is anonymous.
@nprofile…5q2f @nprofile…d8vz
#defcon34 #defcon2026 #fursuit #dhole
https://furry.engineer/system/media_attachments/files/117/056/437/440/824/075/original/1f28cedd073e8ab5.jpg

2026-08-07 21:50:53 UTC

Happy #FursuitFriday from #DEFCON!
Photographer is anonymous.
@nprofile…5q2f @nprofile…d8vz
#defcon34 #defcon2026 #fursuit #dhole

2026-08-05 21:11:40 UTC

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@nprofile…0326 Thanks! ^

2026-08-05 21:01:12 UTC

See y'all at #DEFCON34 soon! :3

2026-08-04 13:59:18 UTC

Had a dream I was talking to someone and they told me their middle name was "Sunday" but they were thinking of changing it to "Bureaucratic Friday"
I woke up trying to figure out which way they intended the joke

2026-08-04 05:05:54 UTC

The title of this video did not disappoint
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zLCZ_Ic1hI

2026-08-04 01:40:59 UTC

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@nprofile…dsx7 I dunno about everyone else, but I plan to be walking around in fursuit!

2026-08-03 16:46:29 UTC

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@nprofile…zvpj If you can convincingly drop "government mandated cuck chair" into the bit, I think you win Bingo

2026-08-03 16:45:06 UTC

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@nprofile…zvpj I'm sure I forgot a few qualifiers, like "Marxist".

2026-08-03 16:44:12 UTC

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@nprofile…zvpj Pull out the thespian skills to ham it up
"Pigeon stole my french fry"
->
"Help, I was robbed by woke trans therian migrants and the police are powerless to intervene"

2026-08-01 22:32:03 UTC

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@nprofile…nl84 Privileged access?

2026-08-01 02:36:17 UTC

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@nprofile…h8ct https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponge_function

2026-07-31 06:04:49 UTC

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@nprofile…4u08 I don't know where this belief comes from, but it's common enough these days to be a concern.

2026-07-30 19:34:07 UTC

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@nprofile…r9el I'm on PrEP. I'm tested for HIV quarterly (which is required, along with a non-reactive test result, to continue receiving PrEP).

2026-07-30 18:59:31 UTC

Relevant to the quoted thread, some people have really weird beliefs about me.

2026-07-30 15:49:10 UTC

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@nprofile…9qh4 I'm on PrEP lol

2026-07-30 14:26:51 UTC

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@nprofile…klv7 Oh I should just respond with
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OJ8YXtSKZg

2026-07-30 14:12:58 UTC

I get some weird emails.
How do I break it to them that "Barkane Arts" is a joke organization name that I came up with as a play on the term "computer wizardry" (but with more furry) rather than an LLC registered in any state?
https://furry.engineer/system/media_attachments/files/117/009/333/528/465/704/original/18f84bc36c51314e.png

2026-07-30 13:42:20 UTC

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@nprofile…y7ud @nprofile…kyv9 For one, @nprofile…zrpc runs a Signal Auditor that I'm aware of: https://github.com/trailofbits/signal-auditor