Encryption Keys Matter

  • Comments posted to this topic are about the item Encryption Keys Matter

  • I won't debate the morality of governments snooping on supposedly confidential and protected traffic.

    All governments have a chain of command and bureaucracy to approve what ever action they do even if it's to buy a new roll of bog paper.

    If governments have been able to do it then so to can people with no approval process or chain of command to act as a watchdog.

    The idea that such vulnerabilities were known and not communicated to people who were in a position to put it right is extremely worrying. Not all items worthy of a top secret rating originate under government supervision. British Government has the concept of a D notice which can be applied to information or products deemed to have a national security concern. If people can get into your systems then something like a D notice is shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

    Failure to notify of vulnerabilities is failing in the first duty of governments which is to protect the national interest

  • I too want to ignore the issue of the morality of Governmental access.

    David.Poole (9/13/2016)


    ...If governments have been able to do it then so to can people with no approval process or chain of command to act as a watchdog...

    This is why I am against any back door. If it exists then it will be exploited. And we won't know who by, why and what they achieved.

    Gaz

    -- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!

  • I agree too.

  • I agree too that if government can do it so can the "bad guys" that aren't in government. Still, efforts should be made to make the data more secure. There are times when I just want to pull the plug on the internet and remove that problem all together. Right now we still have that choice. Maybe someday we won't. We may have a chip put into our head at birth that connects directly to the world wide web.

  • David.Poole (9/13/2016)


    I won't debate the morality of governments snooping on supposedly confidential and protected traffic.

    All governments have a chain of command and bureaucracy to approve what ever action they do even if it's to buy a new roll of bog paper.

    If governments have been able to do it then so to can people with no approval process or chain of command to act as a watchdog.

    The idea that such vulnerabilities were known and not communicated to people who were in a position to put it right is extremely worrying. Not all items worthy of a top secret rating originate under government supervision. British Government has the concept of a D notice which can be applied to information or products deemed to have a national security concern. If people can get into your systems then something like a D notice is shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

    Failure to notify of vulnerabilities is failing in the first duty of governments which is to protect the national interest

    Absolutely! The fact is that government is more concerned with protecting government, than it is with protecting the people who grant it the power to do anything. It is a shame that the people in government don't give a damn about the people they work for.

    One simple example: We all know identity theft is an issue. This vulnerability shows just one way where our data can be stolen (as David said, if the government knows of it, they aren't the only ones!!!). They know our data is at risk. They have the power to force companies to fix the issues we have with identity theft, including not allowing the use of social security numbers for credit. However banks don't care because they are making so much money, and the only real harm is to the poor consumer. So they pay off the elected officials, and the appointed ones, to prevent any legislation or other actions that would force them to actually do something to fix the issue. Additionally, other companies start up and sell products to protect the consumer, that would not be at risk if it weren't for our governments and the corporations. So now the consumer has to pay "insurance" (wasn't this called something else when organized crime did this?).

    I believe we should all do our best to protect data. However I also recognize that it doesn't really matter, except to limit personal liability on our part. The small fines that companies pay don't harm them, and in the end business finds it cheaper to ignore the issues. We are the only ones that may suffer, both as consumers and as employees in the technology arena.

    Dave

  • The NSA is going to poop their pants if Gary Johnson is elected as the next US president.

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • Eric M Russell (9/13/2016)


    The NSA is going to poop their pants if Gary Johnson is elected as the next US president.

    I think more people than those at the NSA would be surprised if any third party candidate gets a significant vote. Do you really think the D's and R's are going to allow that? Hell, everyone knows that Hillary stole votes from Bernie, and nothing is being done about that. A libertarian get elected? Get real!

    Now, as far as I go, I would LOVE to see D's and R's get a smack down like that, I just don't think it is possible right now.

    Dave

  • djackson 22568 (9/13/2016)


    Now, as far as I go, I would LOVE to see D's and R's get a smack down like that, I just don't think it is possible right now.

    There seems to be a general malaise with the entire western political establishment, its not just a US thing. It's a dangerous situation to be in when the people who govern are resented by the people who are (mis)governed.

    There are times when a person in a position of leadership has to ask their people to take a leap of faith. In order for people to take that leap they have to trust their leader enough to do something that the benefits are not immediately apparent.

  • David.Poole (9/14/2016)


    ...There seems to be a general malaise with the entire western political establishment, its not just a US thing...

    Totally agree. I am not a militant but someone who is interested in current affairs. I have voted for most/all major political parties and some of the minor ones. I have gone through a period of disengagement (I even missed voting in a local election once) but now find myself very angry.

    In the extremely unlikely situation where there were enough starting a revolution then I would most likely neither support the current establishment nor hinder the revolutionaries. As someone who is in the "maintain the status quo" demographic I think that is telling.

    Gaz

    -- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!

  • djackson 22568 (9/13/2016)


    Eric M Russell (9/13/2016)


    The NSA is going to poop their pants if Gary Johnson is elected as the next US president.

    I think more people than those at the NSA would be surprised if any third party candidate gets a significant vote. Do you really think the D's and R's are going to allow that? Hell, everyone knows that Hillary stole votes from Bernie, and nothing is being done about that. A libertarian get elected? Get real!

    Now, as far as I go, I would LOVE to see D's and R's get a smack down like that, I just don't think it is possible right now.

    The D / R choices that voters here in the US have been given are regrettable; Clinton herself is a 2nd tier candidate who couldn't beat Bush assuming he could run again, and Trump is fraud. I don't expect to see a Libertarian president this time around, but I can see Gary Johnson getting > 20% of the popular vote. It's important that Clinton or Trump not be allowed a landslide win; I want to see them limp into office with no clear mandate or bragging rights. I want to see their administration nullified the same way they nullified the election.

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • Gary Varga (9/14/2016)


    David.Poole (9/14/2016)


    ...There seems to be a general malaise with the entire western political establishment, its not just a US thing...

    Totally agree. I am not a militant but someone who is interested in current affairs. I have voted for most/all major political parties and some of the minor ones. I have gone through a period of disengagement (I even missed voting in a local election once) but now find myself very angry.

    In the extremely unlikely situation where there were enough starting a revolution then I would most likely neither support the current establishment nor hinder the revolutionaries. As someone who is in the "maintain the status quo" demographic I think that is telling.

    I get what you are saying, but revolution, at least violent revolution, is not a good thing. I think most people want this fixed, but the issue is that a lot of people are drinking the look-aid that more government is better. I heard something on the radio today about how the US is the only industrial nation that does not provide total care for children under 5. Ya think? Isn't that what parents are supposed to do?

    So my fear is that if this goes on, you are going to have the ultra rich sitting back watching the poor and the not quite as poor fight it out. What we need is to go back to personal responsibility, and limited government that doesn't try to cram more and more down our throats (such as spying on everyone whether crimes are committed or not). Whatever happens, we are in for a painful time. I just prefer a little pain over violence.

    (Corrected spelling, case should be care)

    Dave

  • Eric M Russell (9/14/2016)


    djackson 22568 (9/13/2016)


    Eric M Russell (9/13/2016)


    The NSA is going to poop their pants if Gary Johnson is elected as the next US president.

    I think more people than those at the NSA would be surprised if any third party candidate gets a significant vote. Do you really think the D's and R's are going to allow that? Hell, everyone knows that Hillary stole votes from Bernie, and nothing is being done about that. A libertarian get elected? Get real!

    Now, as far as I go, I would LOVE to see D's and R's get a smack down like that, I just don't think it is possible right now.

    The D / R choices that voters here in the US have been given are regrettable; Clinton herself is a 2nd tier candidate who couldn't beat Bush assuming he could run again, and Trump is fraud. I don't expect to see a Libertarian president this time around, but I can see Gary Johnson getting > 20% of the popular vote. It's important that Clinton or Trump not be allowed a landslide win; I want to see them limp into office with no clear mandate or bragging rights. I want to see their administration nullified the same way they nullified the election.

    I am not a fan of either one. But, remember that while Clinton stole the primary from Bernie, all the while violating as many laws as possible, Trump has been successful despite spending almost no money. That tells me people are tired of politicians, not that he nullified anything. My expectation is that Trump is going to win with over 80% of the popular vote, and quite possibly be the first person on history to win all, if not most of the electoral vote. Shudder!

    Dave

  • djackson 22568 (9/14/2016)


    ...I just prefer a little pain over violence.

    I am not advocating violence. It is just that I believe that the political class in the UK are so comfortably set that they are comfortable being both unfair and in breaking the laws that they set for others. There is a growing underclass that is not only disenfranchised but also suffering. Suffering in numbers in a nation as rich as the UK just shouldn't happen (I will not comment on the USA or elsewhere as I do not have enough facts or experience of other countries to hold an informed opinion). It is my opinion that long term UK foreign policy has also aided global suffering.

    When people suffer they only put up with it for so long. History has so many examples of that.

    We'll have to disagree on public health service policies.

    Gaz

    -- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!

  • Eric M Russell (9/14/2016)


    djackson 22568 (9/13/2016)


    Eric M Russell (9/13/2016)


    The NSA is going to poop their pants if Gary Johnson is elected as the next US president.

    I think more people than those at the NSA would be surprised if any third party candidate gets a significant vote. Do you really think the D's and R's are going to allow that? Hell, everyone knows that Hillary stole votes from Bernie, and nothing is being done about that. A libertarian get elected? Get real!

    Now, as far as I go, I would LOVE to see D's and R's get a smack down like that, I just don't think it is possible right now.

    The D / R choices that voters here in the US have been given are regrettable; Clinton herself is a 2nd tier candidate who couldn't beat Bush assuming he could run again, and Trump is fraud. I don't expect to see a Libertarian president this time around, but I can see Gary Johnson getting > 20% of the popular vote. It's important that Clinton or Trump not be allowed a landslide win; I want to see them limp into office with no clear mandate or bragging rights. I want to see their administration nullified the same way they nullified the election.

    Even though I listen to the news most days (I haven't this week though), I had not heard of Gary Johnson that I can recall. That is interesting to me as it highlights the lack of media coverage from very serious news outlets.

    Gaz

    -- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!

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