Google says it fought gag orders in WikiLeaks investigation

Post by Zigurd » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 10:52 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #50

Zigurd wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I believe in charitable debate and skeptical inquiry. I believe in the odds. And the odds are that any technology that has a high potential to significantly add to surveillance capabilities has been exploited for that purpose either by hacking it or convincing (strong-arming if needed) the technology provider to cooperate. I don't deny that Google does a lot of great things in general, and in security research spec…

What exactly was it that you thought Matasano did, that the NSA might have ever leaned on them for anything? People on HN have historically had really weird ideas of how my work intersects with privacy. Matasano is a software engineering service.

Post by sarciszewski » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 11:01 PM UTC

Zigurd wrote: post #51

tptacek wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly was it that you thought Matasano did, that the NSA might have ever leaned on them for anything? People on HN have historically had really weird ideas of how my work intersects with privacy. Matasano is a software engineering service.

Matatsano was probably too small. Didn't it get bought by a larger firm?

    * cryptopals.com
    * microcorruption.com
    * cryptoservices.github.io

Post by Zigurd » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 11:46 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #52

Zigurd wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Matatsano was probably too small. Didn't it get bought by a larger firm?

You didn't answer my question. What exactly do you think it is NSA wants firms like Matasano to do? Stop being evasive. Say something specific, so we can actually address the innuendo. It seems much more likely that NSA would lean on your consulting practice: you build telephony and communications software. Obviously, I don't think NSA leans on companies like yours either.

Post by tedunangst » Fri, Jan 30, 2015, 12:20 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #50

Zigurd wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I believe in charitable debate and skeptical inquiry. I believe in the odds. And the odds are that any technology that has a high potential to significantly add to surveillance capabilities has been exploited for that purpose either by hacking it or convincing (strong-arming if needed) the technology provider to cooperate. I don't deny that Google does a lot of great things in general, and in security research spec…

What exactly was it that you thought Matasano did, that the NSA might have ever leaned on them for anything? People on HN have historically had really weird ideas of how my work intersects with privacy. Matasano is a software engineering service.

Post by sarciszewski » Fri, Jan 30, 2015, 1:58 AM UTC

sdevlin wrote: post #58

sarciszewski wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No? Where did you read that? They're still alive and kicking. 'tptacek left it to start a new company. As far as I can tell, Matasano is quite successful and many of its employees are highly regarded hackers and engineers. Some of what they do: * cryptopals.com * microcorruption.com * cryptoservices.github.io See also: the 'whoishiring threads every month. EDIT: You should probably respond to his post instead of mine…

Well, he is correct that Matasano was acquired by NCC Group. But as a rank-and-file Matasanoan since before the acquisition, I can't say I've noticed a huge impact on the day-to-day.