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Here's another thing to think about: if you are in IT ops, you might have access to private data that could be requested, without proper judicial review, by a t

Here's another thing to think about: if you are in IT ops, you might have access to private data that could be requested, without proper judicial review, by a three letter agency. When you receive a National Security Letter with a gag rule attached, how will you react? What action can you take that is both legal and also ethical? Because it is not just bosses that might try to pressure you into taking unethical actions, it is also the state itself. For my part, I have a plan, and I've told my boss enough to trust him to read between the lines and revoke my access to make it impossible for me to turn over customer data without a warrant.

noir_lord 1y ago
Warrant Canary-like system? Like "I hate the color purple, so if you ever see me in a purple baseball cap..." or something similar?
- jeffrallen 1y ago
  The problem with a NSL is that the gag rule is pretty watertight. For example, "oops, I accidentally wrote my password on a bathroom wall" is gonna land you in a world of hurt. You need to find a way to bring some of your other rights into balance (and conflict with) those of the state, to bring professionals who have a duty to protect your confidence to your defense. The power of the state is asymmetric warfare against an individual, which is what they count on. You need leverage from other competing lawful protections working on your side.
  - noir_lord 1y ago
    We have pretty much identical laws here (where here is UK) - you can be forced to backdoor things, you can't tell the customer and you can't tell anyone else in the company (not sure if you are allowed to tell your manager). There was a whole thing about it a while ago, gov said "we are listening to your feedback" and then did it anyway. Of course our system is actually worse in some ways - forgotten a password, they don't believe you (parks and rec style) "Believe it or not, straight to jail" (iirc it's a max of two years).
  - deaux 1y ago
    You use parallel construction of course, that's how the state itself does it after all.

noir_lord 1y ago

Warrant Canary-like system? Like "I hate the color purple, so if you ever see me in a purple baseball cap..." or something similar?

jeffrallen 1y ago
The problem with a NSL is that the gag rule is pretty watertight. For example, "oops, I accidentally wrote my password on a bathroom wall" is gonna land you in a world of hurt. You need to find a way to bring some of your other rights into balance (and conflict with) those of the state, to bring professionals who have a duty to protect your confidence to your defense. The power of the state is asymmetric warfare against an individual, which is what they count on. You need leverage from other competing lawful protections working on your side.
- noir_lord 1y ago
  We have pretty much identical laws here (where here is UK) - you can be forced to backdoor things, you can't tell the customer and you can't tell anyone else in the company (not sure if you are allowed to tell your manager). There was a whole thing about it a while ago, gov said "we are listening to your feedback" and then did it anyway. Of course our system is actually worse in some ways - forgotten a password, they don't believe you (parks and rec style) "Believe it or not, straight to jail" (iirc it's a max of two years).
- deaux 1y ago
  You use parallel construction of course, that's how the state itself does it after all.