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> She insisted she does not want "back doors" installed in encryption codes, something the industry has warned will weaken security for all users, nor did she w

> She insisted she does not want "back doors" installed in encryption codes, something the industry has warned will weaken security for all users, nor did she want to ban encryption, just to allow easier access by police and the security services. This is a prime example of magical thinking, and it's so infuriating to watch. It's not the case that smart people just haven't figure this out yet, it's that it's fundamentally impossible to get what she asks for, she might as well ask for a unicorn. When people say it's impossible, they don't mean "not yet", they actually mean "never". And she's just one more in a long line of politicians who have asked the same thing over and over and over again, so how hard is it to understand that the industry is kinda tired of people dropping by and asking for unicorns?

PhasmaFelis 9y ago
"I don't want to be able to fly. I understand that's impossible. All I'm asking for is to make it easier to defy the force of gravity."
JadeNB 9y ago
> When people say it's impossible, they don't mean "not yet", they actually mean "never". This is a very good point. I think the problem is that some people do say "impossible" to mean "probably never" ("it's impossible to understand specialist language"), and some people (sometimes the same people) say "impossible" to mean "actually never" ("it's impossible to use only a straightedge and compass to square a circle"); and, unless you're a specialist, then you're probably not qualified to judge which meaning is intended, and you're possibly not even aware that there are two meanings.
- didgeoridoo 9y ago
  Maybe "physically impossible" helps convey the point a bit better?
KGIII 9y ago
I'm usually a nice guy so I wouldn't sneer at her. At the same time, I'd not judge harshly those who did.
bassman9000 9y ago
We need to understand that this is an alien concept for them: for the first time in history, there's a way of communicating end-to-end that's mathematically guaranteed (or quasi-guaranteed) to be secure. This is a dead-end. Not only criminals: they can't read anyone's communication, period. Intelligence methods have to adapt, if they haven't yet.

PhasmaFelis 9y ago

"I don't want to be able to fly. I understand that's impossible. All I'm asking for is to make it easier to defy the force of gravity."

JadeNB 9y ago

> When people say it's impossible, they don't mean "not yet", they actually mean "never". This is a very good point. I think the problem is that some people do say "impossible" to mean "probably never" ("it's impossible to understand specialist language"), and some people (sometimes the same people) say "impossible" to mean "actually never" ("it's impossible to use only a straightedge and compass to square a circle"); and, unless you're a specialist, then you're probably not qualified to judge which meaning is intended, and you're possibly not even aware that there are two meanings.

didgeoridoo 9y ago
Maybe "physically impossible" helps convey the point a bit better?

KGIII 9y ago

I'm usually a nice guy so I wouldn't sneer at her. At the same time, I'd not judge harshly those who did.

bassman9000 9y ago

We need to understand that this is an alien concept for them: for the first time in history, there's a way of communicating end-to-end that's mathematically guaranteed (or quasi-guaranteed) to be secure. This is a dead-end. Not only criminals: they can't read anyone's communication, period. Intelligence methods have to adapt, if they haven't yet.