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The problem with arguments by security experts is that they ignore the reality of ergonomics and convenience. If you're in security and you ignore these, you're
by tensor 7y ago
The problem with arguments by security experts is that they ignore the reality of ergonomics and convenience. If you're in security and you ignore these, you're being naive and likely making dangerous recommendations.
Why do I make this claim? Because if you were realistic, you'd acknowledge that people will inevitably choose the easy route over the secure route. The path to genuine improvements to common place security has to include a focus on methods that are ergonomic and convenient.
Just look at the outdated password complexity rules as a perfect example of this. Sure, in some ideal world where everyone did the hard thing this would be secure. In reality these rules just drove people to write their passwords down on sticky notes under their keyboard.
Signal in the current form is not and will never be a replacement for email due to UX. It's a great messaging platform, but it doesn't solve the use cases that email does.
- tptacek 7y agoI encrypted email were the "easy" route you'd be right, but obviously, it is not. It has vanishingly small usage and is notoriously unusable (see: several generations of "Why Johnny Can't Encrypt" papers).
- monadic2 7y agoIf email served the same purpose as messaging, if the messaging apps were as capable as email, this also wouldn’t be an issue. Email is the “easy” route to encryption because there are no alternatives.
- Fnoord 7y agoIf there was some kind of magical answer to the problem of the network effect, we wouldn't be in this mess with say privacy disregarding Facebook. All this article is doing is explaining how encrypted email is akin to snake oil, and how we can break the network effect of email (by not recommending it for serious comms).