• Tag Archives encryption

  • Obama at SXSW: “Your phones shouldn’t be off limits…’ 

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Obama made an appearance at the SXSW festival this weekend. In case you’re wondering, SXSW is basically a hub for media conferences and nerd-fest that Barack ditched Nancy Reagan’s funeral for. Priorities. It was there that our Commander in Chief shamelessly made an ass out of himself. Again.

    The president… made it clear he didn’t see why phones should be off limits. If, technologically, it is possible to make an impenetrable device where there is no key, no door at all, how do we apprehend the child pornographer, how do we disrupt a terrorist plot? “It’s fetishizing our phones above every other value,” he said. “And that can’t be the right answer. If [the government] can’t get in, then everyone is walking around with a Swiss bank account in their pocket.”

    “How do we apprehend the child pornographer?” Hopefully not the same way the government “apprehends” rapists or those who commit treason by jeopardizing national security. Through their illegal email servers they’re trading classified information from (read Evidence Proves Hillary Lied about the Nature of her Emails).

    Obviously Obama’s newest attack on personal privacy stems from the whole San Bernardino-terrorists debacle. But really, the FBI eyeing the tech field has been a long time coming. The government has inserted itself into just about every industry possible. Look no further than Obama showing up at SXSW, where presidents have no possible business other than to push propaganda where it doesn’t belong. Uncle Sam does not like being left out. Whenever he steps in he brings a load of new rules with him that somehow manage to limit our freedoms even more.

    Obama’s remarks are not only patronizing but condescending. And douchey. He’s implying that the American people are being unreasonable. The government just wants unfettered access to all of your data: including bank account information, coordinates, passwords, your entire network. Remember, if they don’t get their way…

    How do we disrupt a terrorist plot? …There are going to be some constraints imposed to ensure we are safe.

    That’s some class-A manipulation. Don’t you want to be safe, America? (read Dear Wimps Willing to Exchange Liberty for ‘Safety’) See, they’re being reasonable. They promise to only use their proposed magic key against terrorists. You know, the terrorists who weren’t an issue to Obama not long ago (see ‘ISIS is Contained’ and ‘America Doesn’t Face any Existential Threats’). The ones who seem to only exist when it’s convenient.

     

    Full article: Obama at SXSW: “Your phones shouldn’t be off limits…’ » Louder With Crowder


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  • First They Came For the iPhones…

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    The FBI tells us that its demand for a back door into the iPhone is all about fighting terrorism, and that it is essential to break in just this one time to find out more about the San Bernardino attack last December. But the truth is they had long sought a way to break Apple’s iPhone encryption and, like 9/11 and the PATRIOT Act, a mass murder provided just the pretext needed. After all, they say, if we are going to be protected from terrorism we have to give up a little of our privacy and liberty. Never mind that government spying on us has not prevented one terrorist attack.

    Apple has so far stood up to a federal government’s demand that it force its employees to write a computer program to break into its own product. No doubt Apple CEO Tim Cook understands the damage it would do to his company for the world to know that the US government has a key to supposedly secure iPhones. But the principles at stake are even higher. We have a fundamental right to privacy. We have a fundamental right to go about our daily life without the threat of government surveillance of our activities. We are not East Germany.

    Let’s not forget that this new, more secure iPhone was developed partly in response to Ed Snowden’s revelations that the federal government was illegally spying on us. The federal government was caught breaking the law but instead of ending its illegal spying is demanding that private companies make it easier for it to continue.

    Last week we also learned that Congress is planning to join the fight against Apple — and us. Members are rushing to set up yet another governmental commission to study how our privacy can be violated for false promises of security. Of course they won’t put it that way, but we can be sure that will be the result. Some in Congress are seeking to pass legislation regulating how companies can or cannot encrypt their products. This will suppress the development of new technology and will have a chilling effect on our right to be protected from an intrusive government. Any legislation Congress writes limiting encryption will likely be unconstitutional, but unfortunately Congress seldom heeds the Constitution anyway.

    When FBI Director James Comey demanded a back door into the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, he promised that it was only for this one, extraordinary situation. “The San Bernardino litigation isn’t about trying to set a precedent or send any kind of message,” he said in a statement last week. Testifying before Congress just days later, however, he quickly changed course, telling the Members of the House Intelligence Committee that the court order and Apple’s appeals, “will be instructive for other courts.” Does anyone really believe this will not be considered a precedent-setting case? Does anyone really believe the government will not use this technology again and again, with lower and lower thresholds?

    According to press reports, Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. has 175 iPhones with passcodes that the City of New York wants to access. We can be sure that is only the beginning.

    We should support Apple’s refusal to bow to the FBI’s dangerous demands, and we should join forces to defend of our precious liberties without compromise. If the people lead, the leaders will follow.

    Source: First They Came For the iPhones…


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