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Snowden Meets the IETF

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Re: Snowden Meets the IETF

#2
It must have been an exciting surprise for attendees.

I'm glad Snowden said DNS should be encrypted. From the tweet stream provided by @conflictmedia, that was tied for 1st for most re-tweeted, along with making the Internet for users, not spies. (It should be noted that DNSSEC is not encrypted.)

Too bad his appearance wasn't recorded, but HUGE thanks to Niels ten Oever and Rich Salz for tweeting major points!

Re: Snowden Meets the IETF

#3
The more I consider the ramifications of these news reports, the more I realize we need full decentralization and total encryption.

We have the tech: Strong encryption, Tor-like relays, and the blockchain. What we need is a way to make services based on these technologies not just as easy to use but easier to use for the average Jane.

If the internet as we know it is to survive, we have to crack this nut.

Re: Snowden Meets the IETF

#4
post #3

The more I consider the ramifications of these news reports, the more I realize we need full decentralization and total encryption. We have the tech: Strong encryption, Tor-like relays, and the blockchain. What we need is a way to make services based on these technologies not just as easy to use but easier to use for the average Jane. If the internet as we know it is to survive, we have to crack this nut.

More security, more usability.

Pick one. That is why we are in the mess we are in

Re: Snowden Meets the IETF

#5
post #4
post #3

The more I consider the ramifications of these news reports, the more I realize we need full decentralization and total encryption. We have the tech: Strong encryption, Tor-like relays, and the blockchain. What we need is a way to make services based on these technologies not just as easy to use but easier to use for the average Jane. If the internet as we know it is to survive, we have to crack this nut.

More security, more usability. Pick one. That is why we are in the mess we are in

I refuse to believe we cannot have both.

Re: Snowden Meets the IETF

#6
post #2

It must have been an exciting surprise for attendees. I'm glad Snowden said DNS should be encrypted. From the tweet stream provided by @conflictmedia, that was tied for 1st for most re-tweeted, along with making the Internet for users, not spies. (It should be noted that DNSSEC is not encrypted.) Too bad his appearance wasn't recorded, but HUGE thanks to Niels ten Oever and Rich Salz for tweeting major points!

> I'm glad Snowden said DNS should be encrypted.

You know, it's funny because just last week, I chatted with a friend of mine in the UK giving me some pretty crazy rundown of DNS issues he was having. I found out that BT (UK's leading ISP) hijacks DNS for parental control purposes (read: pornblock).

More info here: https://thecomputerperson.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/bts-netwo...

It boggles my mind actual major ISPs get away with this stuff. Sure am glad to use dnscrypt.

Re: Snowden Meets the IETF

#7
post #5
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More security, more usability. Pick one. That is why we are in the mess we are in

I refuse to believe we cannot have both.

Then we need to devote actual money to pay students to spend time teaching laypeople or varied ages/economic backgrounds/attention spans how to send secure messages. Or we need some other way to build up a bunch of people who care about and have the skills to resolve that tradeoff.

Re: Snowden Meets the IETF

#8
post #5
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More security, more usability. Pick one. That is why we are in the mess we are in

I refuse to believe we cannot have both.

Security must, by its very nature, prevent you from doing insecure things. This manifests as an obstacle to users, so they end up choosing the insecure route (writing down passwords etc etc).

Decentralised systems tend to lose to centralised ones because there's no money locus for advertising, development or curation.

It's not totally doomed; the popularity of Snapchat suggests there is demand for services that don't make everything saved and visible forever.

Re: Snowden Meets the IETF

#10
post #8
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I refuse to believe we cannot have both.

Security must, by its very nature, prevent you from doing insecure things. This manifests as an obstacle to users, so they end up choosing the insecure route (writing down passwords etc etc). Decentralised systems tend to lose to centralised ones because there's no money locus for advertising, development or curation. It's not totally doomed; the popularity of Snapchat suggests there is demand for services that don't…

You're referring to the limitations imposed by security as a spectrum versus usability (more secure to more usable). I don't think many people consider a lack of privacy to be a "feature" in the usability sense -- that's typically desirable by 3rd parties, not the users.

I do agree with your profit motive. I consider that a potential opportunity rather than a problem.

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