4 ms·

> So, if we buy a laptop from vendor X, that might be based in some not-fully-democratic country Like, say, the US...

knieveltech 15y ago
I have no idea why this is getting downvoted. The current political climate in the US is fucking abysmal, and bears little resemblance to a representative democracy.
- mistercow 15y ago
  Yeah, it's not like we'd be surprised to find out that the NSA, for example, asked hardware manufacturers to include a backdoor for government use.
  - knieveltech 15y ago
    Wouldn't be the first time: http://www.austinlinks.com/Crypto/non-tech.html http://www.austinlinks.com/Crypto/non-tech.html
- grannyg00se 15y ago
  Probably because the comment didn't contribute to the discussion at hand and had a high troll potential. It's unfortunate that the author decided to throw that comment into the article because it is naive sounding and seems quite out of place there as well.
  - mistercow 15y ago
    I suppose it doesn't open up much possibility for discussion afterward, but I wasn't intending to troll. I just think we need to remember that we don't have to imagine some undemocratic international threat to understand why these issues are important.
- javert 15y ago
  I think it does strongly resemble a democracy. This reflects quite poorly on (my fellow) Americans. Now, you could go with a proportional representation system instead of a winner-in-each-district-takes-all system, but you know who the two big parties with the power would be? The same two.
  - batista 15y ago
    The make the decision making process democratic, i.e not depending on just the two major parties. Also lose the 'president' father figure -- just keep the few hundred elected guys.
listic 15y ago
I wonder what democracy in the country has to do with trusting the hardware company? Looks to me like some otherwise reasonable people have a democracy fetish: they mention it from time to time for now apparent reason.
morsch 15y ago
Yes. Is there any reason why US intelligence services wouldn't want a backdoor at that level? They are technically feasible, they promise to offer access that's difficult to detect and difficult to thwart. So there's an obvious incentive there. What are the downsides? Well, for one thing, it might be illegal. Is it? Merely installing a backdoor could be illegal, but I sort of doubt it is. The hardware company might be compliant, or the backdoor could be installed covertly. That might make a difference. And of course making use of the backdoor could be illegal. US citizens or other people on US soil might enjoy (various degrees of) protection against activities. But I get the impression that the rest of the world is pretty much fair game for US services. The fact that US citizens are protected is brought up again and again in such discussion and doesn't inspire me with a lot of confidence.

I have no idea why this is getting downvoted. The current political climate in the US is fucking abysmal, and bears little resemblance to a representative democracy.

mistercow 15y ago
Yeah, it's not like we'd be surprised to find out that the NSA, for example, asked hardware manufacturers to include a backdoor for government use.
- knieveltech 15y ago
  Wouldn't be the first time: http://www.austinlinks.com/Crypto/non-tech.html http://www.austinlinks.com/Crypto/non-tech.html
grannyg00se 15y ago
Probably because the comment didn't contribute to the discussion at hand and had a high troll potential. It's unfortunate that the author decided to throw that comment into the article because it is naive sounding and seems quite out of place there as well.
- mistercow 15y ago
  I suppose it doesn't open up much possibility for discussion afterward, but I wasn't intending to troll. I just think we need to remember that we don't have to imagine some undemocratic international threat to understand why these issues are important.
javert 15y ago
I think it does strongly resemble a democracy. This reflects quite poorly on (my fellow) Americans. Now, you could go with a proportional representation system instead of a winner-in-each-district-takes-all system, but you know who the two big parties with the power would be? The same two.
- batista 15y ago
  The make the decision making process democratic, i.e not depending on just the two major parties. Also lose the 'president' father figure -- just keep the few hundred elected guys.

listic 15y ago

I wonder what democracy in the country has to do with trusting the hardware company? Looks to me like some otherwise reasonable people have a democracy fetish: they mention it from time to time for now apparent reason.

morsch 15y ago

Yes. Is there any reason why US intelligence services wouldn't want a backdoor at that level? They are technically feasible, they promise to offer access that's difficult to detect and difficult to thwart. So there's an obvious incentive there. What are the downsides? Well, for one thing, it might be illegal. Is it? Merely installing a backdoor could be illegal, but I sort of doubt it is. The hardware company might be compliant, or the backdoor could be installed covertly. That might make a difference. And of course making use of the backdoor could be illegal. US citizens or other people on US soil might enjoy (various degrees of) protection against activities. But I get the impression that the rest of the world is pretty much fair game for US services. The fact that US citizens are protected is brought up again and again in such discussion and doesn't inspire me with a lot of confidence.