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Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

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51–60 of 244 posts

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#51

This is a reminder that without physical security, electronic security is pretty much worthless. The best encryption won't save you from rubberhose cryptanalysis where they beat you until you reveal your key. Clever circumvention technologies such as VPN won't save you when they arrest your for using circumvention technologies. These are all good things, but we in tech, oftentimes think we can program our way out of…

>Clever circumvention technologies such as VPN won't save you when they arrest your for using circumvention technologies.

True, but my question here is: given that VPNs are pretty much essential for the way many large corporations work (they're not going to let employees access sensitive data over the internet in the clear), how does India, a country with a large tech presence and which promotes itself as a good place for software development, handle this?

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They say "anti-nationalist" is a bad thing? Wow.

Why do you think nationalism is bad?

It doesn't have a good track record. Nationalism in all its forms is abhorrent.

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#53

As a young tech person in India, this stuff makes me so angry. The ruling party here (BJP) doesn't have any real competition. Which means they can get away with pretty much anything. They've banned VPNs. They'll chuck you in prison if you speak against the government or a politician. Then they'll brand you as an "anti-nationalist" and openly say to their supporters that you deserve to be shot. Facial recognition is n…

> deepfakes are being used to spread propoganda. Do you have examples for us? Okay if it is in Arabic/Hindi/etc. We talk about the potential for damage here (on HN) and so I think it is important to have examples of this happening in the wild.

That is not a deep fake. That is like saying a modified Trump video speaking Spanish to appeal to Latino voters is a deep fake.

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They say "anti-nationalist" is a bad thing? Wow.

Why do you think nationalism is bad?

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/an-important-distinction

Patriotism is love for one’s country. Nationalism is the belief that one’s country (and often ethnic subset) is supreme (and more deserving of prosperity), speaking generally.

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#55

This is a reminder that without physical security, electronic security is pretty much worthless. The best encryption won't save you from rubberhose cryptanalysis where they beat you until you reveal your key. Clever circumvention technologies such as VPN won't save you when they arrest your for using circumvention technologies. These are all good things, but we in tech, oftentimes think we can program our way out of…

Perhaps there is also the need for untraceable/hidden tools for censorship circumvention. This may involve masquerading as normal traffic. I've heard of specialized hidden censorship circumvention tools that do this by tunneling information though protocols like ping or DNS which won't look as suspicious as a VPN. Of course, for wide deployment this will become a game of cat and mouse, but I don't see any reason it w…

Checkout ScrambleSuit and OBFS4 https://github.com/Yawning/obfs4 https://www.cs.kau.se/philwint/scramblesuit/

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#56
Misleading Title. It is not about using VPN but about propagating rumors.

This is a law in India, as there were instances of riots caused by social media rumor.

Actual News ----------- The FIR has been registered while taking cognisance of the social media posts by miscreants by using different VPNs, which are propagating rumours with regard to the current security scenario in the Kashmir valley, secessionist ideology and glorifying terrorists, the police said.

I am young Techie from India too and I totally support it.

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> deepfakes are being used to spread propoganda. Do you have examples for us? Okay if it is in Arabic/Hindi/etc. We talk about the potential for damage here (on HN) and so I think it is important to have examples of this happening in the wild.

That is not a deep fake. That is like saying a modified Trump video speaking Spanish to appeal to Latino voters is a deep fake.

I don't think you meant to reply to me. Because I'm asking for examples of these deep fakes...

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#59
post #22

It's really too bad that the two rising tech countries - China and India - have such a third-world approach to censorship on the Internet. You would think they would want to mimic the US's successful formula in hopes of building their presence as a tech powerhouse, but in this area they don't seem to be doing that.

We have yet to see how the US reacts when a massive section of it wants to secede. India and China both face a significantly more difficult geopolitical reality than the USA. Some of the world's most westernized and developed countries (Spain, Israel) are starting to use violence and suppressive tactics now that they are faced with even the smallest amount of secessionist unrest. Kashmir is one of the most militarize…

We had a pretty big experiment with federalism and secession in the 19th century, actually.

Re: Indian police open case against hundreds in Kashmir for using VPN

#60

Remind me again, does India have a democratic government or an authoritarian regime?

A democratically-elected authoritarian regime.

Literacy is key to eradicate authoritarian BJP in India. Because the last standing state is the most literate state in India which is Kerala.
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