How safe is it to contribute code to privacy/security tools like Tor?

Posted by ayjz on Tuesday December 08, 2015 @09:28AM
from the self-post dept.

I realize the US and other governments have targeted or harassed some people involved with Tor, but maybe it was only because of their other activities.

Have they targeted anyone just for their technical involvement with privacy and security software?

( 3 comments | 8 points | on HN )

Re:How safe is it to contribute code to privacy/security too... by atmosx on Tuesday December 08, 2015 @02:06PM (#10698566)

Allegedly the NSA tried to spy[1] a Tor developer in the past. That said, I believe that contributing to such a product would figure nicely on any CV.

[1] https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140124/10564825981/nsa-i...

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Re:How safe is it to contribute code to privacy/security too... by Raed667 on Tuesday December 08, 2015 @03:54PM (#10699426)

Yes, you can do a quick search on Twitter to see Tor developers and evangelists "incidentes" with authorities. You can expect being "bothered" in airports and police asking you for your laptop and disk (and even decryption keys).

Other than that, it is pretty impressive to put on a resume, or to get a few thousand followers on Twitter.

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Re:How safe is it to contribute code to privacy/security too... by x0rz on Tuesday December 08, 2015 @11:02AM (#10697145)

Tor is still mostly funded by US govt, why would they publicly harass you with contributing?

Only advice if you fear any backlash is to contribute Anonymously. Using Tor and a unique nickname.

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