Bruce Schneier has an update on the NSA’s XKEYSCORE program. As usual with Schneier’s writing, it’s an interesting and informative read. What I liked most, though, was this observation at the end
Ubiquitous encryption is the bane of listeners worldwide, and it’s the best thing we can deploy to make the world safer.
That’s why it’s important to get Aunt Millie and everyone else using encryption even when it’s not needed: if everyone is encrypting everything, it’s really hard to implement mass surveillance. This, I think, is the real reason the FBI and others are wetting their pants over the secure texting being offered by Apple and Android. They can and will use traditional investigatory methods to go after the real criminals just as they always have and are doing right now even when the criminals use secure texting. What they won’t be able to do is go sifting through everyone’s text messages looking for suspicious texts.
This is exactly why Moxie Marlinspike and his efforts are so disconcerting to the FBI and others who want to be able to read whatever we text or email. If the NSA or FBI knows that you’re involved in criminal behavior or have terrorist sympathies, they can doubtlessly arrange to wiretap your communications no matter what you do. The point is that if everyone is encrypting their communications then
- They can no longer sift through everyone’s communications looking for suspicious behavior.
- They can no longer use the fact that you are encrypting your communications as evidence that you might be a worthwhile target for additional surveillance.