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No, it's more an exercise in "Don't trust anyone else, trust this proven, well-known (in the tech world) encryption" which is markedly different than "Don't tru

No, it's more an exercise in "Don't trust anyone else, trust this proven, well-known (in the tech world) encryption" which is markedly different than "Don't trust others, trust me". PGP doesn't give you confidence in the source, nor should it. It just gives you confidence on the transmission. Now if we could get the public more aware of it, then that'd be great. :) In any case, this isn't security theater. There's nothing theatrical about this. This is a real security benefit that has newly been added. Lots of things can be said about PGP in general, sure, but the ability to encrypt the messages from Facebook so that only you can read them is an actual security benefit. The entire concept of "security theater" is something that looks like it increases security but does nothing. By sheer fact that encrypting communications increases security, it can't be security theater.

cinquemb 11y ago
"…ability to encrypt the messages from Facebook so that only you can read them is an actual security benefit." Except it isn't really "only you", its whoever else has access to the key or keys facebook uses to encrypt such messages and if one distrusts other mail providers that they use to such degree, but trusts facebook, I'd really start question what threat model they are contriving…
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  > Except it isn't really "only you", its whoever else has access to the key or keys facebook uses to encrypt such messages… No, you are giving FB the public key, and keeping the private key. So anyone with the (public) key you give Facebook could send you messages that you can decrypt with the private key (which is why FB also lets you publish the key on your profile page), but could not read the messages sent by someone else with the same key. Only you -- or someone else with the private key that you don't give to Facebook -- can read the messages. Of course, if someone breaks PGP so that they can use one half of the key pair to recover the other half, they could read the message just by knowing the key you share with Facebook ... but that that is intractable is the whole foundation of public key cryptography.
  - cinquemb 11y ago
    So setting side the intractable nature of the key issue, there is also the issue of who has access to the plaintext… if you trust facebook with the plaintext are you also trusting that plaintext is not available to other parties?
    - mynameisvlad 11y ago
      Sure, but that plaintext would have been available to not only the same, but more parties pre-encryption. Because anyone in between Facebook and your mail provider, your mail provider, and anyone in between your mail provider and you would all be susceptible to some form of interception. Now, it's limited to just those on Facebook's side. And that would be covered by a Privacy Policy and potentially the Terms of Service. Also, how is it "intractable" exactly? If you keep your key safe, you keep your key safe. If you give your private key to anyone and everyone, then it's on you if someone else reads your stuff. There's nothing inherently intractable about this. Either you're good with informational security or you aren't. Facebook has absolutely nothing to do with it.
      - cinquemb 11y ago
        >Because anyone in between Facebook and your mail provider, your mail provider, and anyone in between your mail provider and you would all be susceptible to some form of interception. So now that part of the puzzle has been addressed by facebook without the acknowledgement of the rest, people are suppose to just set this aside? >…And that would be covered by a Privacy Policy and potentially the Terms of Service. So a technical implementation with its foundation on a social contract that has and can change at any time is to be trusted… The parent mentioned: "Of course, if someone breaks PGP so that they can use one half of the key pair to recover the other half, they could read the message just by knowing the key you share with Facebook ... but that that is intractable is the whole foundation of public key cryptography." Which I decided to set aside since between the user and privcy policy/tos, are the ones that seem to be the weak points that are often exploited in practice that subverts "security".
- mynameisvlad 11y ago
  IIRC (and correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't used PGP extensively), but Facebook wouldn't be able to decrypt a message they encrypt to you. They'd only be able to if they had your private key (since the message is encrypted using their private and your public key). That's the whole thing about PGP, if someone were to get ahold of a private key, they'd only be able to decrypt everything sent to that person, not sent from. So really, the only one at fault for someone else reading the message would be the key owner, who's responsibility it would be to store that safely. And once again, we ask, how is this "theater"? Everything points to it being a net positive security wise. If you want to debate PGP, or the usefulness of encryption, then I'm sure there's plenty of forums for that. But in terms of the actual feature that Facebook just implemented, it's a security gain as before we had nothing, and, by definition, can't be called a security theater.

cinquemb 11y ago

"…ability to encrypt the messages from Facebook so that only you can read them is an actual security benefit." Except it isn't really "only you", its whoever else has access to the key or keys facebook uses to encrypt such messages and if one distrusts other mail providers that they use to such degree, but trusts facebook, I'd really start question what threat model they are contriving…

dragonwriter 11y ago
> Except it isn't really "only you", its whoever else has access to the key or keys facebook uses to encrypt such messages… No, you are giving FB the public key, and keeping the private key. So anyone with the (public) key you give Facebook could send you messages that you can decrypt with the private key (which is why FB also lets you publish the key on your profile page), but could not read the messages sent by someone else with the same key. Only you -- or someone else with the private key that you don't give to Facebook -- can read the messages. Of course, if someone breaks PGP so that they can use one half of the key pair to recover the other half, they could read the message just by knowing the key you share with Facebook ... but that that is intractable is the whole foundation of public key cryptography.
- cinquemb 11y ago
  So setting side the intractable nature of the key issue, there is also the issue of who has access to the plaintext… if you trust facebook with the plaintext are you also trusting that plaintext is not available to other parties?
  - mynameisvlad 11y ago
    Sure, but that plaintext would have been available to not only the same, but more parties pre-encryption. Because anyone in between Facebook and your mail provider, your mail provider, and anyone in between your mail provider and you would all be susceptible to some form of interception. Now, it's limited to just those on Facebook's side. And that would be covered by a Privacy Policy and potentially the Terms of Service. Also, how is it "intractable" exactly? If you keep your key safe, you keep your key safe. If you give your private key to anyone and everyone, then it's on you if someone else reads your stuff. There's nothing inherently intractable about this. Either you're good with informational security or you aren't. Facebook has absolutely nothing to do with it.
    - cinquemb 11y ago
      >Because anyone in between Facebook and your mail provider, your mail provider, and anyone in between your mail provider and you would all be susceptible to some form of interception. So now that part of the puzzle has been addressed by facebook without the acknowledgement of the rest, people are suppose to just set this aside? >…And that would be covered by a Privacy Policy and potentially the Terms of Service. So a technical implementation with its foundation on a social contract that has and can change at any time is to be trusted… The parent mentioned: "Of course, if someone breaks PGP so that they can use one half of the key pair to recover the other half, they could read the message just by knowing the key you share with Facebook ... but that that is intractable is the whole foundation of public key cryptography." Which I decided to set aside since between the user and privcy policy/tos, are the ones that seem to be the weak points that are often exploited in practice that subverts "security".
mynameisvlad 11y ago
IIRC (and correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't used PGP extensively), but Facebook wouldn't be able to decrypt a message they encrypt to you. They'd only be able to if they had your private key (since the message is encrypted using their private and your public key). That's the whole thing about PGP, if someone were to get ahold of a private key, they'd only be able to decrypt everything sent to that person, not sent from. So really, the only one at fault for someone else reading the message would be the key owner, who's responsibility it would be to store that safely. And once again, we ask, how is this "theater"? Everything points to it being a net positive security wise. If you want to debate PGP, or the usefulness of encryption, then I'm sure there's plenty of forums for that. But in terms of the actual feature that Facebook just implemented, it's a security gain as before we had nothing, and, by definition, can't be called a security theater.