Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer

Post by angersock » Sat, Dec 21, 2013, 1:24 AM UTC

obstacle1 wrote: post #113

angersock wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As much as he can get under one's skin, and as much as he can be abrasive, and any number of other things, I trust his opinions on security and crypto. He's rational to a fault--unfortunately, that means that when facts change he may be left with egg on his face. I don't think there's anything wrong with how he's handled this stuff.

>...I trust his opinions on security and crypto. And here, ladies and gents, is exactly why we'll continue to inhabit an exploitable world forevermore.

Post by aagha » Sat, Dec 21, 2013, 1:27 AM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #151

ye wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think of it from the executives perspective: Option A: keep mouth shut, make a shit ton of money Option B: become a martyr, face prison time People like Snowden are rare.

>>People like Snowden are rare. In all honesty, Snowden is a 30 year old single dude, and as far as I know, he doesn't have kids. Do you think he would have done what he did if he had a family to look after? In my opinion a person's first responsibility is to their family. So yeah, if you're married (like these executives probably are) and you're facing the choice between option A and option B, you should absolutely…

Post by nitrogen » Sat, Dec 21, 2013, 1:28 AM UTC

jballanc wrote: post #121

suprgeek wrote: post #84

NSA invents weak (Back Door present) crypto algo. Pushes RSA to make it a Default in a key function (RNG) by giving them $10 Million. NSA points to RSA as an early adopter and gets NIST to certify it. Millions of systems are now protected by an RSA product that the NSA deliberately weakened. Any sufficiently skilled rogue actor can attack virtually any business that uses these RSA products - NSA (Cyber security Comma…

There's enough wrong with what the NSA has been doing, and enough reasons to encourage people to take an interest in how to curtail, or at least better police, their actions without resorting to tawdry conspiracy theories. The NSA doesn't "protect" anyone. They are an intelligence agency. Their mandate is to collect information. The group you're thinking of, the one that's actually supposed to "protect" the network,…

Post by aagha » Sat, Dec 21, 2013, 1:30 AM UTC

jballanc wrote: post #64

fragsworth wrote: post #43

The NSA's story about how they need to secretly do these things to fight the war on terror makes less sense with each new revelation. Terrorists don't use VPN dongles. What is really going on here?

Heh...I certainly had a good chuckle at this comment. I don't honestly think that the NSA ever paid more than lip-service to the "war on terror". They've been doing the same job since long before Sept. 11, 2001. Before the "war on terror" it was the "cold war", there just happens to have been an awkward gap in between... The NSA is in the business of Signals Intelligence. Their job, plainly stated, is to have access…

Post by michaelcampbell » Sat, Dec 21, 2013, 1:32 AM UTC

ge0rg wrote: post #66

michaelcampbell wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's quite a leap from the information in that article.

That article is merely one piece of information in a long chain (Echelon, the Snowden revelations, Lavabit), and all of them add up to the conclusion that you better not trust any US-based/originated IT security system.