[Cryptography] NSA versus DES etc.... was: iOS 8

Theodore Ts'o tytso at mit.edu
Wed Sep 24 15:12:03 EDT 2014


On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 12:31:51PM +0100, Stephen Farrell wrote:
> So, ISTM that only if you define the "something" that needs to be
> prevented nebulously enough (e.g. "all bad things", or "all spam"
> or "all malware" or "all abuse") do you approach an argument that
> you need to intrusively watch lots of things. And of course the
> problem there is that preventing all bad things is a ridiculous
> goal so the argument falls on that basis.

Are you asserting that politicians never ask for ridiculous things?

I'm not sure whether it was Dan Geer or Bruce Schneier who first made
the point that the Intelligence Community has been given the
impossible task, "Never Again" (in reference to 9/11).  But it's
fairly consistent with some of arguments put forward by General Keith
Alexander, who has justified pretty much everything using the "but
think of 9/11" argument.  Or General Hayden's "Give me the box you
will allow me to operate in. I’m going to play to the very edges of
that box."

> Someone else might finally say, yes, we know pervasive
> monitoring isn't really needed or effective, but (my) society
> makes the unreasonable demand that we prevent all bad things
> so what can we do? Well, if one accepts that argument then
> one should also get rid of all speed limits on roads, as
> drivers everywhere demand to go faster than speed limits. It
> ought be clear that pandering to such unreasonable wishes,
> no matter how popular, is not good government.

Again, you seem to be assuming that the people who make the laws are
fundamentally interested in "good government", instead of say, only
worried about playing to whatever they need to do, including fear, in
order to get re-elected.

						- Ted


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