Rsync.net Warrant Canary

#1

Post by jcsalterego » Mon, Jul 13, 2009, 6:42 PM UTC

Rsync.net Warrant Canary
rsync.net

Re: Rsync.net Warrant Canary

#2

Post by melito » Mon, Jul 13, 2009, 6:51 PM UTC

When I saw this on the front page I assumed a warrant had been served.

Re: Rsync.net Warrant Canary

#3

Post by bcl » Mon, Jul 13, 2009, 6:58 PM UTC

Looks good.

gpg: Signature made Mon Jul 13 08:44:56 2009 PDT using DSA key ID 7D6F806C gpg: Good signature from "rsync.net "

Re: Rsync.net Warrant Canary

#4

Post by jcsalterego » Mon, Jul 13, 2009, 6:58 PM UTC

melito wrote: post #2

When I saw this on the front page I assumed a warrant had been served.

Guess they should have called it a warrant-free canary, huh.

Re: Rsync.net Warrant Canary

#5

Post by callahad » Mon, Jul 13, 2009, 7:08 PM UTC

Rsync.net is a fantastically awesome service. Check out their FAQ:

Will you support my use of X ?

Yes. If you are using X with an rsync.net filesystem, we will support and troubleshoot your use of it, regardless of how complex or esoteric that usage or application is. All such support will be handled by a real live Unix engineer, and will never be dealt with by a ticket system, autoresponder, or first level / junior "technician".

Really ?!

Yes. We are not just providing offsite filesystems, we are providing complete, end to end, personal customer support.

I can't even get that level of support ("real live Unix engineer") at my current workplace when things go pear-shaped.

Re: Rsync.net Warrant Canary

#6

Post by dexen » Mon, Jul 13, 2009, 7:22 PM UTC

Looks like a pretty decent law hack to me; they are going to comply with the warrant and just not update a particular file anymore.

Still, I assume a skilled lawyer would be able to convince a judge that the net effect is that users effectively obtain information about rsync.net being served a warrant quite closely around some specific date, and thus the service broke the law anyway (assuming secret warrants are lawful in the first place).

Re: Rsync.net Warrant Canary

#7

Post by boundlessdreamz » Mon, Jul 13, 2009, 7:24 PM UTC

callahad wrote: post #5

Rsync.net is a fantastically awesome service. Check out their FAQ: Will you support my use of X ? Yes. If you are using X with an rsync.net filesystem, we will support and troubleshoot your use of it, regardless of how complex or esoteric that usage or application is. All such support will be handled by a real live Unix engineer, and will never be dealt with by a ticket system, autoresponder, or first level / junior…

How well will this scale? Isn't this setting the expectations too high and if the company grows well this promise might be difficult to adhere to.

Re: Rsync.net Warrant Canary

#8

Post by dkarl » Mon, Jul 13, 2009, 7:30 PM UTC

dexen wrote: post #6

Looks like a pretty decent law hack to me; they are going to comply with the warrant and just not update a particular file anymore. Still, I assume a skilled lawyer would be able to convince a judge that the net effect is that users effectively obtain information about rsync.net being served a warrant quite closely around some specific date, and thus the service broke the law anyway (assuming secret warrants are lawf…

It seems transparently, wishful-thinkingly illegal. If everyone can find out when a warrant was served by watching what rsync.net says, then how can rsync.net claim they kept the existence of the warrant secret?

Re: Rsync.net Warrant Canary

#9

Post by bluefish » Mon, Jul 13, 2009, 7:35 PM UTC

dexen wrote: post #6

Looks like a pretty decent law hack to me; they are going to comply with the warrant and just not update a particular file anymore. Still, I assume a skilled lawyer would be able to convince a judge that the net effect is that users effectively obtain information about rsync.net being served a warrant quite closely around some specific date, and thus the service broke the law anyway (assuming secret warrants are lawf…

It would be an interesting legal case to say the least, especially because they do not indicate that they will provide further information about the warrant, or how to act other than individuals should "take special notice".

Still I believe you are correct, by having a publicly stated policy about their planned inaction when served a secret warranty is effectively the same as making a public announcement. Ballsy, but kudos to them for making a statement about their privacy beliefs.

Re: Rsync.net Warrant Canary

#10

Post by icey » Mon, Jul 13, 2009, 7:48 PM UTC

boundlessdreamz wrote: post #7

callahad wrote: post #5

Rsync.net is a fantastically awesome service. Check out their FAQ: Will you support my use of X ? Yes. If you are using X with an rsync.net filesystem, we will support and troubleshoot your use of it, regardless of how complex or esoteric that usage or application is. All such support will be handled by a real live Unix engineer, and will never be dealt with by a ticket system, autoresponder, or first level / junior…

How well will this scale? Isn't this setting the expectations too high and if the company grows well this promise might be difficult to adhere to.

I used to host with johncompanies.com (started by the same group or person), and support was always excellent with them as well. I didn't have to use it often, but whenever I did it was a fantastic experience.

It seems like they've got a pretty good idea about what things cost them and can scale by charging the right price for their business. I think they'll do fine.