[Cryptography] This is not the end...

[Tom Mitchell]

On Mon, Mar 21, 2016 at 7:03 PM, Phillip Hallam-Baker <phill at hallambaker.com
> wrote:

> On Mon, Mar 21, 2016 at 9:18 PM, Perry E. Metzger <perry at piermont.com>
> wrote:
> > The FBI dropping its request under the All Writs Act, regardless of
> > its short term motives, is clearly not the end of Crypto War Mk. II
>
 ...
Postponed... "keep dinner warm mom, going to see if Jerry's mom's dinner is
better. "

> >....
> > We cannot rest, as short sighted and technologically illiterate
> > politicians will not rest.
>
> I think we need to clarify where the lines are.
>
....

> What matters is the right to build and sell stuff that is secure
> against mass surveillance. Putting a backdoor into future phones is
> the problem.


One line that needs clarity is the difference between mass surveillance
for reasons of safety and mass or targeted surveillance by criminals.

Today I cannot see how helping only one is possible.

Given the size of criminal botnets of machines some criminals
have more computing resources to attack and snoop than the FBI.
And to some extent more than any TLA.

The charter of the FBI begins:
"Federal Bureau of Investigation Charter Act - Establishes a comprehensive
Federal Bureau of Investigation Charter which sets forth the duties and
responsibilities of the FBI with respect to criminal and civil
investigations, undercover operations, and law enforcement support
functions, but excluding foreign intelligence activities (which were
specified in Executive Order 12036)."

My point is that the current technical reality is adding a back door or
demanding a
ubiquitous cracking service (genie out of the bottle)  also facilitates
domestic and global
criminal actions by all expectations.    Short sighted yet well intentioned
requests
are not to be taken lightly.  Most certainly not  without oversight of a
fully informed
congress.

So for this group
*) What communication security education is needed and who needs it?
*) What possible tech might allow improvements valuable to law enforcement.

I would assert that on the predictive front nothing seems productive without
human intelligence.  On the arrest and punitive front the first order
criminals are so
commonly killed that law enforcement often has nothing left to pursue
beyond anger.  In the
context of hindsight -- books and reports get written.

I am reminded of a sergeant's opinion of the Redeye.  He called it a grudge
weapon.
i.e. You cannot deploy it until after an enemy aircraft has made a pass and
done damage
to your battery position.  And I might note, has zero value in the context
of a kamikaze attack.





-- 
  T o m    M i t c h e l l
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