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Ask Slashdot: Will the NSA Controversy Drive People To Use Privacy Software?
Nerval's Lobster writes "As the U.S. government continues to pursue former NSA contractor Edward Snowden for leaking some of the country's most sensitive intelligence secrets, the debate over federal surveillance seems to have abated somewhat — despite Snowden's stated wish for his revelations to spark transformative and wide-ranging debate, it doesn't seem as if anyone's taking to the streets to protest the NSA's reported monitoring of Americans' emails and phone-call metadata. Even so, will the recent revelations about the NSA cause a spike in demand for sophisticated privacy software, leading to a glut of new apps that vaporize or encrypt data? While there are quite a number of tools already on the market (SpiderOak, Silent Circle, and many more), is their presence enough to get people interested enough to install them? Or do you think the majority of people simply don't care? Despite some polling data that suggests people are concerned about their privacy, software for securing it is just not an exciting topic for most folks, who will rush to download the latest iteration of Instagram or Plants vs. Zombies, but who often throw up their hands and profess ignorance when asked about how they lock down their data."
Most of the comments I have seen here have been depressingly (and unjustifiably, IMO) negative.
I think it is obvious that people are becoming more concerned about privacy, now that they see how much of it they have inadvertently allowed to be taken from them.
I only hope that when they start using "privacy protection measures", they don't forget to fight against the reason they need to: abusive assholes (at least half of whom seem to be in government).
several non-tech folks have stopped communicating with me except for face-to-face, simply because they don't want the government to read our conversations. my text and emails have gotten very matter-of-fact ever since the snowden revelations leaked.
as a result, i've been researching the available encryption resources out there so we can actually have private conversations without worry. there aren't many that are really simple to use and actually effective. i'm talking with a friend about setting up a home server we can VPN into for chat sessions until there's a workable solution for non-tech types.
i've wanted to do this for a while, but no one else around me cared. now they care.
I don't understand this attitude. It basically comes down to "this doesn't directly impact me, so I don't give a fuck". So I guess you have an opinion on very few things, then?
I'm not a billionaire, but I don't think rich people should be capped at a certain level of income. I don't have a uterus, but I support a person's choice to do what they want with their body. I'm not gay, but I fervently support that they be treated like every other citizen as per the Constitution. I'll never be under age again, but I still think rights and liberties should apply to those who are under age.
In fact, it is kind of a sick and disgusting attitude. Less so, maybe, that you're not in the states -- but plenty in the states have exactly that opinion...
The correct answer is zero, zero annoyance. as somebody who works with the normal folks 6 days a week i can tell you a shitload of them already just blast their entire existence onto their FB page anyway, and if having everything encrypted wasn't "clicky clicky" simple or actually cost a cent compared to your Gmails and Yahoo mails? Not gonna happen, they just won't use it.
And of course the bigger bitch is that for most of this software to work you have to get both parties on it so you are stuck with a network effect to where YOU can be encrypted but it won't matter because nobody you know will go to the trouble to use the software so you won't be talking to anyone anyway.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
Yep. And, regarding your "even if they do not decrypt it", I can't help quoting one of my favourite books on security: "The main problem facing the worldâ(TM)s signals intelligence agencies is traffic selection â" how to filter out interesting nuggets from the mass of international phone, fax, email and other traffic. A terrorist who helpfully encrypts his important traffic does this part of the policeâ(TM)s job for them. If the encryption algorithm used is breakable, or if the end systems can be hacked, then the net result is worse than if the traffic had been sent in clear." (See http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/Papers/SEv2-c09.pdf p31)
VKh
To keep the NSA away? None. I have nothing to hide.
To ruin these assholes day? Lots. I have massive amounts of meaningless data I constantly send encrypted via foreign countries. It contains absolutely nothing of interest to them, but it will make it harder for them to find whatever they're interested in, and it will force them to either store massive amounts of meaningless data or discard it all, meaning they won't catch anything interesting in the future, should I ever need to send anything I don't want them snooping.
Either way I'm screwing with them. Not much but easily enough to cover the time and money spent doing my patriotic duty to humanity.