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I worked in the telecom industry, and knowing how much surveillance related regulations was there, I can't believe true e2e encryption is a thing on the interne

by stunt 6y ago

I worked in the telecom industry, and knowing how much surveillance related regulations was there, I can't believe true e2e encryption is a thing on the internet. I'm surprised how so many people in tech believe that a messaging application like WhatsApp is allowed to have real e2e encryption. It's impossible for regulators to ignore a platform with substantial traffic.

rglullis 6y ago
You are right, and yet I always asked myself if all the regulations ever made sense. Those that really want to coordinate any kind of illicit activity, do they use Whatsapp thinking it is secure, or would they be smart enough to set up their own infrastructure? How many threats were stopped due to police/Three-Letter-Agencies being able to tap into the largest services vs going to the deep web and infiltrating/investigating the group "in person"? In any case, my feeling is that all these regulations do is push privacy-conscious people into running their own infra. I was even on the point of running my own email, Matrix and even a SIP server at home, but then I realized that whoever I will be communicating with would not be doing the same so the whole thing is at best an exercise in my sysadmin skills.
- girvo 6y ago
  My thing is that it doesn’t seem to make me safer. So I give up my privacy without (what seems to me) much benefit. I don’t like the trade-off... Are organised dangerous criminals really using and relying on platforms for this stuff?
  - secfirstmd 6y ago
    Yes they are https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/02/police-roll-up-crime-networks-in-europe-after-infiltrating-popular-encrypted-chat-app/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/02/police-roll-up-crime-netwo...
bigphishy 6y ago
Where do you work, if you don't mind my asking? The Telecom Industry is really all-encompassing these days.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
tinus_hn 6y ago
This kind of encryption makes the difference between targeted surveillance and mass surveillance. In Germany mass surveillance is not accepted as easily as it is in many other countries.

by stunt 6y ago

rglullis 6y ago

You are right, and yet I always asked myself if all the regulations ever made sense. Those that really want to coordinate any kind of illicit activity, do they use Whatsapp thinking it is secure, or would they be smart enough to set up their own infrastructure? How many threats were stopped due to police/Three-Letter-Agencies being able to tap into the largest services vs going to the deep web and infiltrating/investigating the group "in person"? In any case, my feeling is that all these regulations do is push privacy-conscious people into running their own infra. I was even on the point of running my own email, Matrix and even a SIP server at home, but then I realized that whoever I will be communicating with would not be doing the same so the whole thing is at best an exercise in my sysadmin skills.

girvo 6y ago
My thing is that it doesn’t seem to make me safer. So I give up my privacy without (what seems to me) much benefit. I don’t like the trade-off... Are organised dangerous criminals really using and relying on platforms for this stuff?
- secfirstmd 6y ago
  Yes they are https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/02/police-roll-up-crime-networks-in-europe-after-infiltrating-popular-encrypted-chat-app/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/02/police-roll-up-crime-netwo...

bigphishy 6y ago

Where do you work, if you don't mind my asking? The Telecom Industry is really all-encompassing these days.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

tinus_hn 6y ago

This kind of encryption makes the difference between targeted surveillance and mass surveillance. In Germany mass surveillance is not accepted as easily as it is in many other countries.