Slashdot Mirror
The Sudden Policy Change In Truecrypt Explained
X10 (186866) writes "I use Truecrypt, but recently someone pointed me to the SourceForge page of Truecrypt that says it's out of business. I found the message weird, but now there's an explanation: Truecrypt has received a letter from the NSA."
Anyone with a firmer source (or who can debunk the claim), please chime in below; considering the fate of LavaBit, it sure sounds plausible. PCWorld lists some alternative software, for Windows users in particular, but do you believe that Microsoft's BitLocker is more secure?
No evidence is presented. The reference to a "canary" is suspect, as it isn't discussed what that canary was.
Some semi-random tweeter is reposted on some random blog? I don't think so.
It's possible that this is accurate, but without evidence, why bother? As I asked in the original discussion about the shuttering of TrueCrypt, who stands to benefit?
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
this is actually a link to an interesting article, not goatse. it's an editorial about how the most recent full version of true crypt (7.1a) is still as secure as it was last week, and there's no reason to stop using it. It also says they (who?) are working on an open license fork that will be released on a future date.
still doesn't answer the question on if it's like lava bit. true crypt may be just as secure as it was last week, but maybe it's also been owned by NSA from day one.
Could you clarify? Who is Alyssa Rowan to TrueCrypt? Sorry for my ignorance, I tried Googling a bit and just got links to this article.
It's someone who has been active in the crypto/security community for awhile now. Personal details are pretty scarce (i.e. it could be a front for the NSA for all anyone knows), but the persona has been active in crypto. If you want something to Google on try "alyssa rowan cryptography".
Two guys - working working over a decade without funding etc.
Ennead was 29 in 2005 (http://www.wolfmanzbytes.com/windows/70-truecrypt-encryption.html) and they obviously developed it on their freetime.
Fast forward from that to today and you got couple of middle-aged devs, probably with more demading careers and perhaps even families and maybe with young kids.
They started it as a Windows project, when Windows was...a completely different beast than it is today.
It's no wonder TrueCrypt didn't get very many (any?) releases in the past couple of years.
It's certainly a very interesting way to exit stage.