Re:Zoom says it won’t encrypt free calls so it can work more...
by austincheney on Wednesday June 03, 2020 @07:57AM
(#23402392)
> In the physical world, however
With regards to security analysis the only difference between the physical world and digital word is proximity (hops) between agents, or evidence, in a conversation and convenience of access. Software developers tend to think purely in terms of controls and exploits, which is a tiny subset of security. Even conversations in the physical world can be encrypted, for example if two people are speaking Pashto I would have no idea what is said. If it isn’t recorded for later translation it’s encrypted forever.
Those few distinctions are important from a legal perspective where agents of digital concerns are more likely operating across political boundaries at any given moment.
> There's not too much the owner can do to stop it.
They can make available fail safes to store the evidence in a physical safe with tamper proof mechanics. Breaking such a safe would destroy the contained contents in the process much like attempting to break an iPhone with supposedly perfect encryption.
Since you are talking about surveillance another common misconception I have noticed many software developers make is equating the terms: security, privacy, anonymity which are all distinct. Privacy and anonymity are both aspects of confidentiality but privacy is concerned with hiding the contents of a message where anonymity is concerned with hiding the agents of the message. Those two do not overlap. Confidentiality is one of three aspects of security, though from a legal perspective privacy is available in many contexts without application of security controls.
With regards to security analysis the only difference between the physical world and digital word is proximity (hops) between agents, or evidence, in a conversation and convenience of access. Software developers tend to think purely in terms of controls and exploits, which is a tiny subset of security. Even conversations in the physical world can be encrypted, for example if two people are speaking Pashto I would have no idea what is said. If it isn’t recorded for later translation it’s encrypted forever.
Those few distinctions are important from a legal perspective where agents of digital concerns are more likely operating across political boundaries at any given moment.
> There's not too much the owner can do to stop it.
They can make available fail safes to store the evidence in a physical safe with tamper proof mechanics. Breaking such a safe would destroy the contained contents in the process much like attempting to break an iPhone with supposedly perfect encryption.
Since you are talking about surveillance another common misconception I have noticed many software developers make is equating the terms: security, privacy, anonymity which are all distinct. Privacy and anonymity are both aspects of confidentiality but privacy is concerned with hiding the contents of a message where anonymity is concerned with hiding the agents of the message. Those two do not overlap. Confidentiality is one of three aspects of security, though from a legal perspective privacy is available in many contexts without application of security controls.