Controversial Surveillance Firm Blue Coat Was Granted a Powerful Encryption Certificate (vice.com)

Joseph Cox, reporting for Motherboard (edited for clarity): A controversial surveillance company called Blue Coat Systems -- whose products have been detected in Iran and Sudan -- was recently issued a powerful encryption certificate by Symantec. The certificate, and the authority that comes with it, could allow Blue Coat Systems to more easily snoop on encrypted traffic. But Symantec downplayed concern from the security community. Blue Coat, which sells web-monitoring software, was granted the power in September last year, but it was only widely noticed this week. The company's devices are used by both government and commercial customers for keeping tabs on networks or conducting surveillance. In Syria, the technology has been used to censor web sites and monitor the communications of dissidents, activists and journalists.Blue Coat assures that it is not going to utilize the certificates to snoop on us. The Register reports: We asked Blue Coat how it planned to use its new powers -- and we were assured that its intermediate certificate was only used for internal testing and that the certificate is no longer in use. "Symantec has reviewed the intermediate CA issued to Blue Coat and determined it was used appropriately," the two firms said in a statement. "Consistent with their protocols, Symantec maintained full control of the private key and Blue Coat never had access to it. Blue Coat has confirmed it was used for internal testing and has since been discontinued. Therefore, rumors of misuse are unfounded."

Comments

And?

[onyxruby]

Really? This non-story made Slashdot? Shall we get out the tin-foil hats, UFO shirts and start watching conspiracy theory movies? I should hope that on this site people have at least a basic understanding of how technology works. /tinfoil hat brigade to the rescue //just as soon as the contrails clear out ///and fluoride in the water is removed

Bullshit

[Lumpy]

Really? a "powerful crypto certificate"?

Suddenly we are in the world of snowcrash and shadowrun? Wiz man I got a cert that can break the pentagon firewalls!

Slashdot, Fiction for wannabe nerds, News for the internet people that will believe anything.