It could be worse. Here in the UK, they would have locked him up for refusing to hand over his passwords. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act makes it a specific criminal offence and people have been imprisoned for it. Personally, I'm worried that I might get locked up for refusing to decrypt the contents of /dev/urandom. I think we need to wake up to the fact that there are a lot of people in power who would prefer that strong cryptography be the exclusive preserve of government.
Another Hacker’s Laptop, Cell Phones Searched at Border
41–50 of 89 posts
Re: Another Hacker’s Laptop, Cell Phones Searched at Border
#42I find it amazing that there is so little outrage at what is happening in the USA.
The country that paints itself as an example of freedom and democracy and aspires to spreading those values around the world is the same country that:
* kidnaps and tortures people,
* sets up a military prison with no civillian oversight, outside any legal jurisdiction, where it keeps people indefinitely,
* kills people in various countries using missiles launched from drones,
* interrogates its citizens as they come back from abroad, threatening them with detention or not letting them into the country,
* tightly controls the media and what information gets released from war zones,
* has a lawless "zone" extending 100 miles from its border, where laws are unclear, and people can be searched without warrant,
* seizes computers, accesses and copies data, threatens people so that they give up their passwords,
* uses scare tactics on security researchers (see story above) and whistleblowers (see all the wikileaks stories)
I come from a former-communist country that was under the Soviet influence. We fortunately no longer are. I think what I listed above is very visible to people like me, but somehow it goes under the radar of most Americans. I see it as classical secret police tactics, utilized in all totalitarian regimes, while Americans seem to see it as a necessary nuisance to "combat terrorism".
I find it even more amazing that instead of fighting back, people just discuss workarounds. Ship your data via FedEx, keep it online, wipe your drives, carry a laptop with an empty drive… This works today, but the way things are developing, it might not work tomorrow!
Wake up, people. In comparison to things I listed above the whole ridiculous story about the "naked scanners" is just a joke.
Re: Another Hacker’s Laptop, Cell Phones Searched at Border
#43I find it amazing that there is so little outrage at what is happening in the USA. The country that paints itself as an example of freedom and democracy and aspires to spreading those values around the world is the same country that: * kidnaps and tortures people, * sets up a military prison with no civillian oversight, outside any legal jurisdiction, where it keeps people indefinitely, * kills people in various coun…
What amazes me is that the great swath of Obama supporters who decried the Bush administration's civil rights abuses are strangely quiet about the continuation of those abuses today. (Caveat: I'm not American, but if I was, I would have held my nose and voted for Obama in 2008.)
Re: Another Hacker’s Laptop, Cell Phones Searched at Border
#44Re: Another Hacker’s Laptop, Cell Phones Searched at Border
#45I find it amazing that there is so little outrage at what is happening in the USA. The country that paints itself as an example of freedom and democracy and aspires to spreading those values around the world is the same country that: * kidnaps and tortures people, * sets up a military prison with no civillian oversight, outside any legal jurisdiction, where it keeps people indefinitely, * kills people in various coun…
What amazes me is that the great swath of Obama supporters who decried the Bush administration's civil rights abuses are strangely quiet about the continuation of those abuses today. (Caveat: I'm not American, but if I was, I would have held my nose and voted for Obama in 2008.)
But look at the greater problem: Obama or not, people don't actually do anything. Sure, there will be some forum discussions, but that's pretty much it. The EFF and ACLU seem to be the only organized movements that actually try to do anything. In the political landscape these issues just do not appear.
Re: Another Hacker’s Laptop, Cell Phones Searched at Border
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
What amazes me is that the great swath of Obama supporters who decried the Bush administration's civil rights abuses are strangely quiet about the continuation of those abuses today. (Caveat: I'm not American, but if I was, I would have held my nose and voted for Obama in 2008.)
But look at the greater problem: Obama or not, people don't actually do anything. Sure, there will be some forum discussions, but that's pretty much it. The EFF and ACLU seem to be the only organized movements that actually try to do anything. In the political landscape these issues just do not appear.
You're right. Most people assume their democratic duty amounts to showing up and voting once every two or four years - though almost half of eligible Americans don't even do that much - and that voting for the best candidate is enough to effect change.
Community organizer Saul Alinsky famously had a meeting with US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had just been elected in the deepest trough of the Great Depression. Alinsky spoke about the President's role in creating a more fair and prosperous society.
At the end of the meeting, FDR told Alinsky: "Okay, you've convinced me. Now go out and put pressure on me!"
Re: Another Hacker’s Laptop, Cell Phones Searched at Border
#47I find it amazing that there is so little outrage at what is happening in the USA. The country that paints itself as an example of freedom and democracy and aspires to spreading those values around the world is the same country that: * kidnaps and tortures people, * sets up a military prison with no civillian oversight, outside any legal jurisdiction, where it keeps people indefinitely, * kills people in various coun…
What amazes me is that the great swath of Obama supporters who decried the Bush administration's civil rights abuses are strangely quiet about the continuation of those abuses today. (Caveat: I'm not American, but if I was, I would have held my nose and voted for Obama in 2008.)
I voted for Obama. I'm a liberal and he has lost the support of the liberals. We are not silent about the continuation, and in some circumstances extension, of the abuses. In quite a few races this past election cycle in the U.S. the Republican candidate won as a result of people like me voting for the Green party.
Obama has been a profound disappointment to me in the area of civil rights. That a former constitutional law professor does not stand against these abuses is almost beyond belief to me. He has been a disappointment in other areas but for him to not defend freedom and justice makes me despair for the future of the country.
Re: Another Hacker’s Laptop, Cell Phones Searched at Border
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
To make people think he's keeping it there but he really isn't? A bluff?
I thought analysts took a dim view of security by obscurity.
I think the dim view is on using obscurity as your only or main security approach. However leading attackers down blind alleys, in addition to having real security measures in place, doesn't seem to me to be entirely worthless (IANA Security Analyst).
Re: Another Hacker’s Laptop, Cell Phones Searched at Border
#49I find it amazing that there is so little outrage at what is happening in the USA. The country that paints itself as an example of freedom and democracy and aspires to spreading those values around the world is the same country that: * kidnaps and tortures people, * sets up a military prison with no civillian oversight, outside any legal jurisdiction, where it keeps people indefinitely, * kills people in various coun…
I grew up in the Canal Zone during the Soviet scare. (I'm a former colonist.) One thing we would point to as a reason why the U.S. was better than the Soviet regime was our concept of due process and the constitutionally backed freedoms. I never thought I would see the day when Americans accepted the things you describe.
Growing up I often wondered how it came to pass that Germans accepted Hitler and his abuses. My girlfriend's dad fought for Hitler (she's German). His comment about that time was, "We just didn't think and then found ourselves in a war." Hearing his comment and seeing what has happened to the U.S. has made me understand these things much better.
People don't think. It's easy to scare people. It can happen anywhere. A society is only as strong and vibrant as it's citizens are and things can change dramatically from generation to generation.
I was interrogated when coming back from Germany in August. It pissed me off to no end. I didn't file a complaint. I took it. I have a comfortable life and it didn't seem worthwhile to make a complaint that goes nowhere. It's likely that I will live elsewhere soon.
Re: Another Hacker’s Laptop, Cell Phones Searched at Border
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
What amazes me is that the great swath of Obama supporters who decried the Bush administration's civil rights abuses are strangely quiet about the continuation of those abuses today. (Caveat: I'm not American, but if I was, I would have held my nose and voted for Obama in 2008.)
I voted for Obama. I'm a liberal and he has lost the support of the liberals. We are not silent about the continuation, and in some circumstances extension, of the abuses. In quite a few races this past election cycle in the U.S. the Republican candidate won as a result of people like me voting for the Green party. Obama has been a profound disappointment to me in the area of civil rights. That a former constitutiona…
It is worse than simple ignorance: He understand the abuses perfectly well, he just doesn't give a shit.
Let that be a lesson to all of us: politicians lie, trusting them is foolish.