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Former FBI General Counsel Jim Baker, who was known for prosecuting the legal case against Apple to get them to unlock the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, has published an extraordinary essay on Lawfare where he surprisingly argues rather for strong encryption without government back doors.
From Schneier on Security:
In the face of congressional inaction, and in light of the magnitude of the threat, it is time for governmental authorities -- including law enforcement -- to embrace encryption because it is one of the few mechanisms that the United States and its allies can use to more effectively protect themselves from existential cybersecurity threats, particularly from China. This is true even though encryption will impose costs on society, especially victims of other types of crime.
[...] I am unaware of a technical solution that will effectively and simultaneously reconcile all of the societal interests at stake in the encryption debate, such as public safety, cybersecurity and privacy as well as simultaneously fostering innovation and the economic competitiveness of American companies in a global marketplace.
[...] All public safety officials should think of protecting the cybersecurity of the United States as an essential part of their core mission to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. And they should be doing so even if there will be real and painful costs associated with such a cybersecurity-forward orientation. The stakes are too high and our current cybersecurity situation too grave to adopt a different approach.
Baker joins the growing list of former US law enforcement and national security senior officials who have come out in favor of strong encryption over backdoors, such as former NSA directors Gen. Michael Hayden and V. Adm. Mike McConnell, former DHS secretary Michael Chertoff, Counter-Terrorism adviser Richard Clarke, former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, and former deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Wednesday October 30 2019, @02:49PM (12 children)
We don't need anybody's approval to use strong crypto. We simply just use it and ignore the tyrants that say, no you can't
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Wednesday October 30 2019, @03:53PM (11 children)
I hate to say this.
Because if you ignore the tyrants, they will make your freedoms illegal. Then they'll use the overwhelming force of government to come get you and lock you up -- for your safety!
First they came for the people who used EBCDIC. I did not use EBCDIC, so I said nothing.
Next they came for the people who used ROT13. I did not use ROT13, so I said nothing.
. . . see a pattern . . .
assumption: dem stupid gubmit foaks shore is ignert enough to believe EBCDIC is a form of encryption.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 30 2019, @04:04PM (4 children)
You used the right word.
These are not our best people. They don't care about privacy. They know that businesses won't tolerate a government threat to encryption, so they are closing that door and will support other means for the government to get what they want.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday October 30 2019, @04:45PM (2 children)
Heh, so one needs to be a "former sumthin" to become tyrant?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 30 2019, @06:51PM (1 child)
They are in the League of Shadows now.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday October 30 2019, @07:50PM
Vorlons were also tyrants.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Wednesday October 30 2019, @09:57PM
They've had those other means for a very long time [xkcd.com] (not a joke, by the way).
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 2) by tekk on Wednesday October 30 2019, @07:06PM
You say that like EBCDIC isn't a more useful form of encryption than ROT13 ;)
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday October 30 2019, @09:05PM (2 children)
Then let that be a reminder to vote for nicer tyrants
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday October 31 2019, @02:19PM (1 child)
So, wait . . . you're saying I should vote for the lesser of two evils?
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday October 31 2019, @05:13PM
Look for a third, then you can vote for the least evil. Of course you know there is no requirement to vote for evil at all.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday October 30 2019, @11:13PM (1 child)
Liar. You clearly ran every alphanumeric character in that message through ROT13 *twice.* I can see the scuff marks on the flipped bits!
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday October 31 2019, @02:18PM
Oh dear, I thought that the 2nd ROT13 undid the scuff marks from the first round. I wonder how ROT13 is affected when run in the Southern hemisphere where the bits circle the other direction and boolean values are inverted.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.