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Former FBI Chief Keeps Up Anti-Crypto Campaign
ganns.com writes "Former FBI director Louis Freeh is urging lawmakers to limit encryption products that don't include backdoors for government surveillance." Still urging, that is.
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One piece at a time, the DOJ (which oversees the FBI) is pulling privacy and our rights out from beneath us.
he's probably way under-educated on the topic, and that's it.
Why do we even have an FBI? What does the FBI do that individual state police departments cannot? Hunt down aliens?
cpeterso
I have posted similar comment a couple of times before - the logic is undeniable. Nobody has ever gave reasoned argument against it:
Ask Security Services in the US, UK or Indonesia (Bali) to deny this:
Internet surveillance, using Echelon, Carnivore or back doors in encryption, will not stop terrorists communicating by other means - most especially face to face or personal courier.
Terrorists will have to do that, or they will be caught.
Perhaps using mobile when absolutely essential, saying - Meet you in the pub Monday (human bomb to target A), or Tuesday (target B) or Sunday (abort).
The Internet has become a tool for government to snoop on their people - 24/7.
The terrorism argument is a dummy - bull*.
SURVEILLANCE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO STOP TERRORISTS - IT IS SPIN AND PROPAGANDA
This propaganda is for several reasons, including: a) making you feel safer b) that the government are doing something and c) the more malicious motive of privacy invasion.
Government say about surveillance - you've nothing to fear - if you are not breaking the law
This argument is made to pressure people into acquiescence - else appear guilty of hiding something.
It does not address the real reason why they want this information (which they will deny) - they want a surveillance society.
They wish to invade your basic human right to privacy. This is like having somebody watching everything you do - all your personal thoughts, hopes and fears will be open to them.
This is everything - including phone calls and interactive TV. Quote from CNET: "Whether you're just accessing a Web site, placing a phone call, watching TV or developing a Web service, sometime in the not to distant future, virtually all such transactions will converge around Internet protocols."
All your finances for them to scrutinize - heaven help you if you cannot account for every cent when they check on your taxes.
Do not believe the LIES of Government - even more of your money spent on these measures will not protect us from terrorists.
P.S. On the Domain Name System, big business steal words that belong to everybody - abridging what words you can use - violating the First Amendment. Corporations illegally abuse and expand their brand using domain names - above all smaller businesses who use similar words - violating Competition Law.
The authorities LIE - they know how to make these trademark domains unique and totally distinctive, as the LAW requires trademarks to be. They are aiding and abetting the pervertion of Law. Please visit the World Intellectual Piracy Organization - not connected with United Nations WIPO.org !
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> I've heard that historically this has been a bone of contention. The FBI would find some criminal using a home brewed encryption scheme, give it to the NSA. The NSA folks would figure it out on their lunch hour and have a good laugh. Absolutely no comparison between FBI and NSA when it comes to crypto skill level.
I hate to defend Freeh on crypto policy, but it may be more than just jealousy on his part.
Consider that if the bad guy's homebrew crypto scheme was nontrivial, NSA might do more harm than good to disclose that it had been broken. I can think of a time when an FBI prosecutor saying "We used differential cryptanalysis and broke the guy's DES implementation" on the record, in court, would probably have done a great deal of harm.
If that example doesn't ring any bells, imagine the following hypothetical scenario: An overzealous British sex-crimes prosecutor (FBI) in 1940 comes out and says "Alan Turing's encrypted notes [this is hypothetical, remember] are actually homosexual love letters! A guy at Bletchley (NSA) told us about something called 'Enigma' and voila, it's kinda like what Turing's using in his letters! If Turing's using something this complicated just to conceal his love letters, imagine what strong crypto the Germans must have!"
So perhaps it's not jealousy as much as it's sour grapes. Maybe Freeh's pissed that even when a cryptosystem can be cracked, NSA's too smart to tell him about it :-)