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https://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/essays/WhyIWrotePGP.html https://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/essays/WhyIWrotePGP.html In case anybody hasn't read it yet, Phili
by pdkl95 12y ago
https://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/essays/WhyIWrotePGP.html https://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/essays/WhyIWrotePGP.html
In case anybody hasn't read it yet, Philip Zimmermann's essay on why he wrote PGP is very relevant to this discussion. Google is effectively saying envelopes are not meant for common use.
Did you send everything by postcard back in the snail-mail days, only using an envelope when the contents was very-important? If someone saw you mailing an envelope, did they suspiciously ask what was so important that you needed to hide it? No, wrapping your mail in an envelope was commonplace.
This is what we need to do for digital messages: wrap them in an envelope (encryption). More importantly, we need a culture that sees sending encryption as normal. You may not be sending anything important at the moment, but other people are, and if encryption is only used for "important" things, it invites suspicion.
If Google has a problem with this, I suggest they find a new business plan.
- lectrick 12y agoMartin Fowler's seminal essay on why privacy is important at a societal-change level is also relevant: http://martinfowler.com/articles/bothersome-privacy.html http://martinfowler.com/articles/bothersome-privacy.html
- harmarsupercar 12y agoTotally agree. The fact we happily send so much data around :/ clear text has always irked me. The only layer of protection is that there's probably no one interested enough to look
- kefka 12y ago"No one" assumes a human. I'd use a COTS textural analyzer and social graph and process all your (and your associates) content in one fell swoop. And then sell that to the highest bidder.
- tormeh 12y agoNot really a valid comparison. Encrypting a message is more like sending your letter in a titanium safe.