4 ms·

Here is my concern: that the EU will make an exemption for security researchers/white-hat hackers, but only those recognised by a certain qualification or profe

Here is my concern: that the EU will make an exemption for security researchers/white-hat hackers, but only those recognised by a certain qualification or professional body. Governments around the world already mandate professional licenses for many industries, and IT is so critical that it's only a matter of time until we see a 'License to Code'.

unimpressive 15y ago
I'm going to be clear with you; I've lost sleep over this. I continue to lose sleep over this. The thing is, no matter how much I wish it were so. I don't feel that (and in reality I do not.) I have the financial or political capital to really do anything in the realm of significance about this. I'm not articulating the prior points because I seek pity or want to hear similar views from people who sympathize with my position. I instead would like a simple question answered: What's the best thing I can do to stop things like this from happening?
- phillmv 15y ago
  Well… of course you do. You're a well educated, well informed professional capable of using the internet who is solidly in the middle class. People like you are the core of every group of people seeking change. What do you do? You form an organization, a lobbying group. Organizations are the base unit of power. You throw up a website, you get as many like minded people as possible (literally, thousands) to sign up for your mailing list and you badger every single person you can find across the political spectrum on the issue. You write letters to politicians, you write software that makes phone calls, you get people who run companies who would be affected by the issue to give you financial and moral support, and you try to talk directly to every politician or candidate to be a politician on the issue. Ideally, albeit hard on this weird technocratic issue, you get some mass public outrage on the topic. With some luck, you can go: small company CEO who knows a medium company CEO who hangs out with someone higher up who can have a one on one with people who actually vote on the issue. The catch is, before this is over it will be a more-than-full-time-job but… it's a startup like any other. This is how any issue becomes mainstream: there are a bunch of people working round the clock on it. Think about illegal trade unions in Poland in 1978 or gay people going from being beaten indiscriminately by the cops in 1969 to being on the verge of legalizing marriage across the West. In the meantime, get started by having you and all of your friends write personal letters and call your eurodeputies (not having clicked on TFA I assume that's the body in question).
  - ajuc 15y ago
    There needs to be some angle that matters for regular people. With Polish strikes it was crashing economy and big regulated prices increase - freedom and truth in TV was important, and there were always people in opposition, but bread was the impulse that made the most people go to the strike. Recent example - ACTA outrage. There were people alerting public for years about the danger (Piotr Vaglewski comes to mind). Public just ignored them. Then Megaupload was shut down, and suddenly ACTA was everybody business (even thought it wasn't ACTA fault:) )
    - ajuc 15y ago
      Eh, can't edit, he's name is Piotr Waglowski of course, I always mix it with his nick.
- mattmanser 15y ago
  Stop stressing about things you're not going to do anything about. Or become an amazing politician. There's also organisations like the EFF in the UK and other EU countries that are working diligently every day for you. Donate or even better volunteer.
  - unimpressive 15y ago
    >Stop stressing about things you're not going to do anything about. Quite impossible I'm afraid. I guess what I'm really asking is: If I were to try and become an activist on these sorts of issues, where should I start? >Or become an amazing politician. I considered it.
    - mattmanser 15y ago
      Where you from? If in the UK: http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ I saw a speech by these guys where they were relating how the whole of the UK was unable to edit Wikipedia because of one 'child porn' image and various other anti-digital laws (pretty certain it was them, do some research first though). They seem competent and actually talk to politicians and the big players. If you actually care that deeply do something. If not UK find your country's equivalent.
      - dannyobrien 15y ago
        Or start one. I helped start the Open Rights Group. We worked out that you could fund a single person's salary from monthly donations of around 1000 people. This was before Kickstarter or the current generation of equivalents, but we got a 1000 people to pledge using PledgeBank (http://www.pledgebank.com/ http://www.pledgebank.com/) (which works anywhere). It was enough to get started. It makes a difference. You could do it tomorrow. Anyone here could. Even if it's just a sideline to your business ideas, it'll help ensure that your business exists in a world you want to live in.
    - cabalamat 15y ago
      > If I were to try and become an activist on these sorts of issues, where should I start? The Open Rights Group, as someone else has mentioned, or the Pirate Party -- http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/ http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/ Or you can join both.
- zacharyvoase 15y ago
  I'm surprised none of the comments here describe how to actively circumvent those laws once they do (inevitably) appear.
  - sp332 15y ago
    We already know how to circumvent the laws. That's not the hard part.
- WiseWeasel 15y ago
  Vote Pirate Party.
m0skit0 15y ago
That means there will be 2 different classes of citizens? And also you mean Justice is not independent but serves some "other" interests? This just shows how low the human rights chart has fallen...
- zacharyvoase 15y ago
  We already have government-mandated (and expensive) licenses for accountants, lawyers, boiler mechanics, shopkeepers, architects, construction companies, restaurateurs, etc.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - fennecfoxen 15y ago
    And many economists consider this one of the primary threats to continued economic growth. Entrenched interests, keeping challengers down.

unimpressive 15y ago

I'm going to be clear with you; I've lost sleep over this. I continue to lose sleep over this. The thing is, no matter how much I wish it were so. I don't feel that (and in reality I do not.) I have the financial or political capital to really do anything in the realm of significance about this. I'm not articulating the prior points because I seek pity or want to hear similar views from people who sympathize with my position. I instead would like a simple question answered: What's the best thing I can do to stop things like this from happening?

phillmv 15y ago
Well… of course you do. You're a well educated, well informed professional capable of using the internet who is solidly in the middle class. People like you are the core of every group of people seeking change. What do you do? You form an organization, a lobbying group. Organizations are the base unit of power. You throw up a website, you get as many like minded people as possible (literally, thousands) to sign up for your mailing list and you badger every single person you can find across the political spectrum on the issue. You write letters to politicians, you write software that makes phone calls, you get people who run companies who would be affected by the issue to give you financial and moral support, and you try to talk directly to every politician or candidate to be a politician on the issue. Ideally, albeit hard on this weird technocratic issue, you get some mass public outrage on the topic. With some luck, you can go: small company CEO who knows a medium company CEO who hangs out with someone higher up who can have a one on one with people who actually vote on the issue. The catch is, before this is over it will be a more-than-full-time-job but… it's a startup like any other. This is how any issue becomes mainstream: there are a bunch of people working round the clock on it. Think about illegal trade unions in Poland in 1978 or gay people going from being beaten indiscriminately by the cops in 1969 to being on the verge of legalizing marriage across the West. In the meantime, get started by having you and all of your friends write personal letters and call your eurodeputies (not having clicked on TFA I assume that's the body in question).
- ajuc 15y ago
  There needs to be some angle that matters for regular people. With Polish strikes it was crashing economy and big regulated prices increase - freedom and truth in TV was important, and there were always people in opposition, but bread was the impulse that made the most people go to the strike. Recent example - ACTA outrage. There were people alerting public for years about the danger (Piotr Vaglewski comes to mind). Public just ignored them. Then Megaupload was shut down, and suddenly ACTA was everybody business (even thought it wasn't ACTA fault:) )
  - ajuc 15y ago
    Eh, can't edit, he's name is Piotr Waglowski of course, I always mix it with his nick.
mattmanser 15y ago
Stop stressing about things you're not going to do anything about. Or become an amazing politician. There's also organisations like the EFF in the UK and other EU countries that are working diligently every day for you. Donate or even better volunteer.
- unimpressive 15y ago
  >Stop stressing about things you're not going to do anything about. Quite impossible I'm afraid. I guess what I'm really asking is: If I were to try and become an activist on these sorts of issues, where should I start? >Or become an amazing politician. I considered it.
  - mattmanser 15y ago
    Where you from? If in the UK: http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ I saw a speech by these guys where they were relating how the whole of the UK was unable to edit Wikipedia because of one 'child porn' image and various other anti-digital laws (pretty certain it was them, do some research first though). They seem competent and actually talk to politicians and the big players. If you actually care that deeply do something. If not UK find your country's equivalent.
    - dannyobrien 15y ago
      Or start one. I helped start the Open Rights Group. We worked out that you could fund a single person's salary from monthly donations of around 1000 people. This was before Kickstarter or the current generation of equivalents, but we got a 1000 people to pledge using PledgeBank (http://www.pledgebank.com/ http://www.pledgebank.com/) (which works anywhere). It was enough to get started. It makes a difference. You could do it tomorrow. Anyone here could. Even if it's just a sideline to your business ideas, it'll help ensure that your business exists in a world you want to live in.
  - cabalamat 15y ago
    > If I were to try and become an activist on these sorts of issues, where should I start? The Open Rights Group, as someone else has mentioned, or the Pirate Party -- http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/ http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/ Or you can join both.
zacharyvoase 15y ago
I'm surprised none of the comments here describe how to actively circumvent those laws once they do (inevitably) appear.
- sp332 15y ago
  We already know how to circumvent the laws. That's not the hard part.
WiseWeasel 15y ago
Vote Pirate Party.

m0skit0 15y ago

That means there will be 2 different classes of citizens? And also you mean Justice is not independent but serves some "other" interests? This just shows how low the human rights chart has fallen...

zacharyvoase 15y ago
We already have government-mandated (and expensive) licenses for accountants, lawyers, boiler mechanics, shopkeepers, architects, construction companies, restaurateurs, etc.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- fennecfoxen 15y ago
  And many economists consider this one of the primary threats to continued economic growth. Entrenched interests, keeping challengers down.