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The Network Is Hostile
An anonymous reader writes: Following this weekend's news that AT&T was as friendly with the NSA as we've suspected all along, cryptographer Matthew Green takes a step back to look at the broad lessons we've learned from the NSA leaks. He puts it simply: the network is hostile — and we really understand that now. "My take from the NSA revelations is that even though this point was 'obvious' and well-known, we've always felt it more intellectually than in our hearts. Even knowing the worst was possible, we still chose to believe that direct peering connections and leased lines from reputable providers like AT&T would make us safe. If nothing else, the NSA leaks have convincingly refuted this assumption." Green also points out that the limitations on law enforcement's data collection are technical in nature — their appetite for surveillance would be even larger if they had the means to manage it. "...it's significant that someday a large portion of the world's traffic will flow through networks controlled by governments that are, at least to some extent, hostile to the core values of Western democracies."
"..someday a large portion of the world's traffic will flow through networks controlled by governments that are, at least to some extent, hostile to the core values of Western democracies.."
You mean, like the US government? /That was way too easy.
I'm not one of the many self-loathing Americans, but it's pretty irrefutable that the US government is "at least to some extent" hostile to the core Western, humanist values that are even laid out in its own Constitution.
-Styopa
Some of the very worst offenders on surveillance are "democracies." It's time for us to stop living cliche to cliche and start realizing that things like personal freedom are correlated with, not caused by, particular structural forms of government. Ask a Jew in 1940 if they missed the Kaiser, who was a strong monarch, not a figurehead. Ask the average Russian pleb under Stalin if they'd not have given a small body part to be back under the Tsar.
Some of the worst governments in the modern age were ones built on being "for the people." Let's start judging governments based on what they do, not their structure.
And some of those will be the governments of Western democracies. That's the truly maddening part.
Look at how much power we've ceded to those governments - "free" health care for just one example (geez, and you're worried about the privacy implications of the NSA tracking just your phone calls?!?!?! Yet you'd willingly put all your private medical data in the hands of that same government. WTF?!?!?!)
Why do the same people who want the government to get more power and the resources to back that power (usually via something like "pay your fair share") act surprised when that power gets abused?
Keep everybody safe. Encrypt everything!
Sorry, but if the security apparatus of western democracies have lost the plot are are hostile to western democracies ... then it's time to pretty much realize that burning those assholes to the ground is the only real solution.
Nobody who works for these agents should be off limits. Doxxing, publishing their banking information.
It's time to hit back at the fascists before it's too late.
They can't pretend to be protecting our liberties by eroding them as bad as any totalitarian regime ever has.
This notion that these clowns should be able to bypass any and all security, due process, skip over our rights, and then lit to us about is complete garbage.
If the politicians won't rein them in, the people need to.
Gotta wonder how many people who agree with your post also want to raise taxes (but only on the "rich") and give those same "fascists" more money....
Yes. That is made clear. Almost all of the article is about the NSA's capabilities. Then, at the end, some text, including the quoted part, about how this is important even if you don't mind the actions of the NSA.
"Even if you're not inclined to view the NSA as an adversary ... America is hardly the only intelligence agency capable of subverting the global communications network. ... While it's cheap to hold China out as some sort of boogeyman, it's significant that someday a large portion of the world's traffic will flow through networks controlled by governments that are, at least to some extent, hostile to the core values of Western democracies."
"...it's significant that today a large portion of the world's traffic flows through networks controlled by governments that are, at least to some extent, hostile to the core values of Western democracies."
We call that hostile government the United States of America.
Scruting the inscrutable for over 50 years.
What is even more maddening is that the governments of Western democracies are, in fact, The People.
Look honey, an optimist! How adorable.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Yes. And "free" fire prevention, and "free" roads, and a "free" military, and "free" education.
Gosh, we'd all be SO much better without this "free" stuff.
Healthcare for everyone: YOU may want your fellow citizens to have access to healthcare based upon individual levels of wealth, but me, I'd just as soon the person walking down the street (a) doesn't have their effectiveness at their job reduced by disease or injury any more than is absolutely necessary, (b) is as little likely as possible to be passing along some communicable disease, (c) is available for work as much as possible. Because that's best for everyone. Including your selfish person. So I want them to have access to healthcare based upon the single issue of need.
The current welfare system for the insurance companies isn't optimum by any means. But it's a damn sight better than what we had before.
Let's be honest, most Americans still favor the NSA surveillance programs. They tend to say things like, "what does it hurt?" or, "if it catches a terrorist, it's worth it." So it's not like the government is going against the will of the people, here.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."