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Zoom Acquires Keybase

keybase.io

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Re: Zoom Acquires Keybase

#561

Post by jng »

swyx wrote: post #549
jng wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If so, it would be in the unusual shape that it is a top-dollar one rather than cover-the-failure-with-a-pretty-ending one. But in this case, Zoom is probably actually interested in the security tech that Keybase has apart from the talent, they're just not interested in the product.

did i miss something? how do you know its top-dollar? no dollar amount was disclosed.

No, you didn't miss anything. As you probably expected, it's just my deductions from context. I may be completely wrong. I still do believe in them, but obviously no one else needs to.

Re: Zoom Acquires Keybase

#562

Post by kyboren »

cbg0 wrote: post #25

> Zoom does not and will not proactively monitor meeting contents, but our trust and safety team will continue to use automated tools to look for evidence of abusive users based upon other available data. > Zoom has not and will not build a mechanism to decrypt live meetings for lawful intercept purposes. > We also do not have a means to insert our employees or others into meetings without being reflected in the part…

It also does not say that they have not provided key material or RNG output, or that they have not deliberately weakened any aspect of their design other than "cryptographic backdoors" to accommodate law enforcement desires.

These kinds of statements are typically most usefully interpreted as a template for the kinds of things they plan to do, just maybe not exactly in that way.

Re: Zoom Acquires Keybase

#563

Post by sneak »

dang wrote: post #485
sneak wrote: post #214

So, the company that got bribed by a shitcoin promoter to backdoor the keybase app so it can abuse your secret keybase identity keys to place permanent, non-removable shitcoin ads on your profile[1] (and then immediately denied that it was a backdoor and also lied about implementing the ability for users to remove the ads keybase got paid to place[2]) is now joining up with the company that has shipped sketchy backdo…

Please don't post in the flamewar style to HN. We're here for curious conversation, not to smite enemies, snark, score rhetorical points, and whatnot. Also, if you ratchet rhetoric up to this level of indignation, you detract from your own credibility, so it's not in your interest. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

My apologies; I thought it was on this side of the line, if a bit sarcastic. I do my best to comply with the guidelines and keep it on topic here.

Please delete/kill the comment, it’s actually irrelevant because their old product is probably toast now (as is implied in TFA). My delete button timer has expired.

Re: Zoom Acquires Keybase

#564

Post by tomcatfish »

maximente wrote: post #307
rvz wrote: post #20

Looks like it wasn't a good idea to leave your private keys in Keybase's servers was it? Perhaps the moment that Keybase took VC funding a while back, it was over to begin with and the principles of being a "Slack competitor" and respecting their users privacy went straight out of the window and into the bin. I really had high hopes for Keybase as a Slack competitor, the cryptocurrency stuff I actively ignored, but t…

honestly the real security fail in keybase seemed to be users flocking to add every single social media identity to their keybase account, allowing anyone using the public API to remove all doubt that greg1234 on twitter == karl5912 on reddit == john1005 on HN, etc. scrape all those social media posts, reddit subs, etc. and you've probably got a solid idea of who that user is. all under the guise of public FLOSS stuf…

That's not a flaw, that's the main feature I was using it for.

Re: Zoom Acquires Keybase

#565

Post by seba_dos1 »

seemslegit wrote: post #361
underyx wrote: post #44

Keybase's side of the announcement: https://keybase.io/blog/keybase-joins-zoom > What the Keybase team will be doing > Initially, our single top priority is helping to make Zoom even more secure. There are no specific plans for the Keybase app yet. Ultimately Keybase's future is in Zoom's hands, and we'll see where that takes us. Of course, if anything changes about Keybase’s availability, our users will get plenty o…

"to make Zoom even more secure." I mean, this might take a while.

I can easily see the words "even more" being added only after rounds of reviews :P

Re: Zoom Acquires Keybase

#566

Post by mi100hael »

kentonv wrote: post #175
kgraves wrote: post #28

I'm seeing a certain pattern here, aren't we all just fooling ourselves? Isn't this just all inevitable? Aren't all these startups just lining up all in the hopes just to get acquired? I guess when we see VC Funded™ on any startup what it _really means_ is that: "We are prioritising a return for our investors even if it means violating our mission statement".

No, that's not how this works. This outcome is almost certainly seen as a failure by the VCs. It looks like an acquihire. If so, it's quite possible that the VCs didn't even get their money back. Acquihires generally do not return money to VCs -- obviously, given that the employees are free to work anywhere, the acquirer's interest is in paying as much as possible to the employees and as little as possible to the now…

Typical VC terms give them veto rights over future deals even though they are minority stakeholders.

Re: Zoom Acquires Keybase

#567

Post by foxrider »

dcow wrote: post #78

Honest question, why does Zoom’s security reputation matter more than Keybase’s? There’s so much pessimism in here but I really don't get it. I disliked zoom long before any of the security issues because frankly it’s rough, unpolished, software that’s never really worked well for me. I, for one, would be excited to get a functional Zoom with better security integrated into Keybase as an option for UI so that you hav…

The top comment says it all - China. I'm not going to have a slither of trust fot any China-based company, or a company that employs the majority of Chinese nationals. The reasoning is simple - this state is known for being subversive, play stupid spy games and have full authority over any company operating within its borders. Same reason one shold never trust an Iranian, Russian, North Korean companies and such.

Re: Zoom Acquires Keybase

#568

Post by Baeocystin »

Gasp0de wrote: post #553
gonehome wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Zoom is based in California’s Silicon Valley, but it owns three companies in China that develop its software. The Citizen Lab said the structure allowed the company to lower its development costs, but added “this arrangement may make Zoom responsive to pressure from Chinese authorities.”" https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/24/uk-governmen... The implication is that China is hostile and leverages their powe…

Isn't the US actually at least as bad if not worse? Thanks to Edward Snowden we know without speculation that the US "is hostile and leverages their power to censor/collect communication information from companies and their people without checks on this power" (ok, supposedly there is secret judges that secretly check on this power, but that doesn't really do any good does it?). The USA also "pressure companies to ha…

Short answer? No. Not even close.

Source: have lived in both countries

Re: Zoom Acquires Keybase

#570

Post by seba_dos1 »

Legogris wrote: post #211
ddevault wrote: post #53

Keybase helped me to identify a trend in the software industry: using a pretty UI to cover up the disruption of an open ecosystem with a closed, centralized replacement. Keybase seemed cool on the face of it - making encryption easier is a laudible goal, and PGP certainly could use the improvement. But, thanks to Keybase, now I ask different questions upfront. Beware the Keybase formula: 1. Integrates with an existin…

I don't know how many people here remember the excitement when Android was new and, OMG, it's Linux! Open source! Finally we have a Linux-based, free and open phone platform! I actually think that this played a non-trivial part in Android getting early traction - similar dynamic to Gmail where tech people got excited about it eventually "my friend who's good with computers recommends this" becomes a factor. Not the e…

I was very excited about first reports on Android. I was young, starting to earn my first money, and I wanted to spend that money by getting myself my first, awesome, Linux-powered smartphone by Google - a company I heard only good things about.

Fortunately, I've decided to go with Openmoko instead back then. I'm so glad I did.

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