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Re:Obama Encryption Policy Rejects Laws Mandating Backdoors by simonh on Friday October 09, 2015 @12:41PM (#10361336)
Agreed, but it's still a massive improvement over mandating that all encryption used by citizens be thoroughly crippled. The status quo should be that the degree to which Government can intrude into citizens privacy is limited by law and subject to open public debate. We're not quite there yet, either in the US or here in the UK, but dropping the idea of crippled encryption is at least a step back from the brink even if it's not enough steps back for my liking. It's at least an implicit acknowledgement that the EFF/privacy hippies aren't completely wrong.
Re:Obama Encryption Policy Rejects Laws Mandating Backdoors by wfo on Friday October 09, 2015 @01:17PM (#10361663)
I think threatening to ban all secure communication in a psychotic unrealistic policy position and having important "serious" people like the director of the FBI push for it isn't really intended to get it codified into law, rather to elicit responses like yours -- it's designed to massively push the Overton window against privacy so that we can feel okay about how bad things currently are -- at least the insane unrealistic threats that were thrown around weren't followed through.
Re:Obama Encryption Policy Rejects Laws Mandating Backdoors by simonh on Monday October 12, 2015 @06:31PM (#10377296)
No, unfotrunately I think our 'security' establishment really are so divorced from reality that they think crippling encryption is a good idea. It would be nice to think that they're actualy technically competent and it's all a ploy, but the truth is depressingly mundane. They handed the Chinese government and other authoritarian states cover for demanding back doors in encrypted products on a platter, and sold out our privacy, without any clue how utterly stupid and self defeating an idea it is.
Re:Obama Encryption Policy Rejects Laws Mandating Backdoors by acaloiar on Friday October 09, 2015 @01:28PM (#10361759)
My thoughts mirror @wfo's, but more simplistically. It is a negotiation tactic. When seller A wants to sell something for $20, it is initially offered for $30. When buyer B's $25 counter offer is accepted, B is pleased with the result because they've purchased the item under asking price, while A is pleased for having sold at a premium.
Re:Obama Encryption Policy Rejects Laws Mandating Backdoors by BackWhackBeaner on Friday October 09, 2015 @12:59PM (#10361502)
Ergo, why projects that provide encryption tools are so important.