3 ms·
In the US we have tech companies complying with sketchy DHS subpoenas that don’t require warrants. We have DoJ targeting political enemies. We have FISA mass su
by softwaredoug 1mo ago
In the US we have tech companies complying with sketchy DHS subpoenas that don’t require warrants. We have DoJ targeting political enemies. We have FISA mass surveillance.
It’s naive to think politically motivated surveillance can’t happen in the UK and elsewhere. Or to assume that only the “right people” will be the ones able to break encryption.
- smilespray 1mo agoPeople with the "wrong" political opinion have been surveilled for decades. It just took more work.
- graemep 1mo agoWhich is protective in itself. Expensive surveillance will have to be more limited. Maybe of leaders of organisations rather than every supporter.
- trollbridge 1mo agoIn the US we also have tech companies going out of their way to make their devices have strong encryption and be unbreakable.
- lazide 1mo agoSometimes, with likely exceptions.
- softwaredoug 1mo agoYes hashtag “Not all tech companies”
- lioeters 1mo agoAnd the marketing to make people believe it!
- derwiki 1mo agoMaybe I’m naive: I can believe the e2e encryption happens, but it takes a lot of faith to believe there’s no front-end telemetry that would render that ineffective.
- throw0101a 1mo agoDefine "ineffective". Traffic analysis is a thing: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_analysis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_analysis but message E2EE is generally not designed to solve that. Other layers of the stack would probably have to get involved.
- inigyou 1mo agoFor instance WhatsApp uploads your unencrypted message history to Google Cloud once a week.
- fsflover 1mo agoOr iPhone storing all previous unencrypted notifications including Signal messages, if you didn't switch it off: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47716490 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47716490
- ethagnawl 1mo agoOne. Most of the time. Supposedly.
- enoint 1mo agoWired has reported that ongoing DHS surveillance tracks “anti-tech” and anti-AI sentiment. So the tech firms have concerns on both sides.
- dofm 1mo ago> In the US we have tech companies complying with sketchy DHS subpoenas that don’t require warrants. We have DoJ targeting political enemies. We have FISA mass surveillance. You also have a president who has just said he will "report" a journalist to the FCC for "rebuke or punishment". I regret to inform people that fear over people cracking your encryption is quite niche, at this point; you have a looming fascist regime and should be more afraid of the $5 wrench.
- tetris11 1mo ago> $5 wrench Ref for anyone looking: https://xkcd.com/538/ https://xkcd.com/538/
- SOLAR_FIELDS 1mo ago$5 wrench already in play, US citizen was detained at the border recently for simply wiping their phone
- mc32 1mo ago"What, like with a cloth or something?" Destruction of potential evidence of a crime is a crime. Obviously here there is nuance and the courts can determine if this is the right interpretation or not. If he had compromising information and he reasonable suspicion he’d be asked to unlock his phone he should have “wiped” it way before he got to the border.
- parineum 1mo agoDestruction of evidence is a crime. They'd have to prove there was evidence.
- mc32 1mo agoYes, they would have to prove that there was incriminating data on the phone. However, destroying potential evidence before there is suspicion of a crime is also a crime if done with intent to undermine a future investigation. It's quite unadvisable to destroy data in front of any sort of law enforcement. Last ditch effort? Sure, you better your odds but it's not ideal. If you have evidence of a crime, you know, wipe it way before you need to hand things over for examination and be in the position of having to destroy data as they knock on your door.
- Eddy_Viscosity2 1mo ago> It’s naive to think politically motivated surveillance can’t happen in the UK and elsewhere. It's naive to think it isn't already happening in the UK and elsewhere and has for a long time. The only thing technology is changing is to increase the depth and scope of what they surveil.
- iso1631 1mo agoTechnology has the scale. The billionaire giants have unprecedented amounts of data -- Soviet Russia, Nazi germany, they'd have loved this level of insight. But worse that that, they have a population that thinks its fine as long as it's not the government, its just the free market doing its thing, and it's all about freedom for the most powerful