[Cryptography] Encryption and anonymity as top tools for images of child sexual abuse

[alan at clueserver.org]

> On 1 Oct 2019, at 06:44, Henry Baker <hbaker1 at pipeline.com> wrote:
>>
>> We appreciate the wisdom of President Eisenhower: "If you want total
>> security, go to prison.
>> There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on.  The only thing
>> lacking... is freedom."
>
> As Australia started out as a penal colony,

"Australia was founded as a penal colony.
 America was founded as an insane asylum."

>it seems fitting to still
> treat us like convicts:
>
>     https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/crossbench-disquiet-grows-over-draconian-spyware-bill-20180926-p5062x.html
>
>     "It appears that people who are not even suspected of committing a
> crime can face a fine
>      of up to $50,000 and up to five years’ imprisonment for declining
> to provide a password
>      to their smart phone, computer or other electronic devices."
>
> Although it's sad to see my country bend over to the spylords, I've given
> up the political fight...
> Every person I talked to on the ground about the AABill did not care. And
> I'm not talking about the
> general public, but mostly developers and admins. FFS, even talking to
> devs within a company I worked
> for doing cryptography did not care!!

They should. The ability to read things via a backdoor implies the ability
to plant "evidence" via that same backdoor.

>
> The very people who should have cared, didn't. If they weren't swayed, how
> are you going to convince the
> general voter to shout from the roof tops against politicians crying the
> Four Horsemen of the Infocalypse?

"Ye have locked yerselves up in cages of fear--and, behold, do ye now
complain that ye lack FREEDOM!" - The Principia Discordia

>
> AFAIS the only way we (us Australians at least) will ever be safe from
> government spying is for encryption
> to be built in, turned on by default, and being supply chain tamper
> proofed (this includes the legislation
> like above). Anything away from this is either going to be too onerous on
> the user, or will eventually be
> commandeered by governments.

It will also help prevent tampering by well funded attackers. State, mob
or paranoid religious entities.

>
> A few years ago, the crowds said that the way against this push from
> governments to backdoor encryption was
> to play their game politically rather than to try and solve it
> technically. History shows that this hasn't
> and will continue to not work.
>
> Political solutions aren't... so let's stop playing their games.

They are a solution, just not in your problem space.

Q: Why do programmers confuse Halloween and Christmas?
A: Because OCT 31 == DEC 25.