Oh yeah... I saw someone on TV mention, totally calmly, that the internet of things would be great for catching terrorists because now all that data would be available to law enforcement. It was just assumed that they could tap into any data they wanted to. Kinda freaked me out. Is that where we are now... we don't even care any more?
Not that it matters that much, because the state of internet security is so poor, you can just assume any piece of data is accessible to anyone who wants it.
Next thing you know, they will be making us exercise every morning before work. The people complaining about slow internet out in the boonies? They are the only lucky ones not being watched.
What do you say to someone that says: "I am not a terrorist so I do not care who watches, my life is boring so they can watch me." This person believes they are data until the data tells the government they need to be monitored. And if they are monitored the government will see they have nothing to hide.
@caffeine_dude 1. Anything the "government" (and that includes everyone from the FBI to your local police department) can see is also available to anyone who can hack a government website. And while most high-level federal sites are reasonably secure, does anyone really think their local Sheriff's Dept. computer net is safe? Hackers seriously don't give a crap if you are a terrorist, but they do care about your home security setup, your work schedule and when you are gone from home, the devices you have with your bank info, passwords, personal data that could be used for identity theft, and that you keep your valuables in a tomato soup can in the pantry. 2. They trust everyone in the government? They think no government employee would ever mishandle their info or sell it?
3. At what point DO they object? Is micro-chipping babies a good thing, because the child could be tracked if kidnapped? How about adults?
@rockblossom He believes in security by obscurity. If everyone is being watched no one is. How likely is it he will be targeted if everyone is watched. Also I have heard him say it does not matter I have nothing to hide. Essentially he is chipped, his phone always is reporting his location.
@caffeine_dude Easy way to cure him of that- tell him to hand over his email and banking passwords. When he objects, ask him why not, and remind him that he says he's got nothing to hide. This article covers it wonderfully. Also. remind him that the NSA grabbed the call metadata of every Verizon Wireless customer without warrants- which tells you just about as much about them as the actual call contents (see here: Why Metadata Matters)
@caffeine_dude Perhaps a good example of the problem they might better understand is what happened with the TSA keys for your luggage when flying. The government wanted access to your luggage and the flying public wanted to keep their valuables secure from potentially sticky-fingered baggage handlers, so they started offering locks with a backdoor master key the TSA could open, but with unique designs that were supposed to be difficult to pick. Which is fine because you have nothing to hide from the government and the keys would be restricted to a secure area with cameras so they could only be used for authorized purposes. Except pictures of the keys leaked and now anyone can use a 3D printer to create their own set, so the criminally-inclined baggage handlers can keep a set on them and open anyone's bags anywhere. This is functionally the same as building a backdoor for the government into encryption; maybe the government will only use it for good (but how much do you really trust the government and the people working for it?), but there's a strong incentive for people with bad intentions to gain access to that method, and it's likely at some point someone will, either by stealing it from the government or reverse-engineering the method independently.
@jqubed And in considering what kind of phone I will buy next, Apple's stock just went way up. I'm waiting to see whether the other phone makers will follow, because Apple's concerns about backdoor programs is spot-on.
@rockblossom Last I checked Android itself doesn't have a backdoor either and is supposed to have decent encryption. On computers the hard disk encryption built into Mac OS is good. On Windows the Feds asked Microsoft to build a backdoor into BitLocker; Microsoft says they didn't but I've also seen that that isn't particularly believed by security researchers. The EFF recommends using DiskCryptor instead. If your device uses an SSD or some other flash-based storage it's more important to encrypt the drive than it was with magnetic disks because you can't actually securely delete data from an SSD the way you can from a magnetic disk. Encrypting the drive will at least help make sure your data is unreadable after it's deleted.
@jqubed It's good to see them take a stand on this. The government is overreaching by miles and Apple is most definitely right in fighting it. However, I have little hope that the ruling will land in favor of Apple/the general public. Our government has gotten very comfortable with flat out ignoring the 4th amendment since 9/11.
The Internet of Things is so unbelievably broken, we are all screwed.
No matter how shit you think it is, it's always worse than that.
From just 2016, here's a sample of things (all courtesy of https://twitter.com/internetofshit):
Internet-connected thermometer:
Internet-connected headband:
Yoga pants that shock you into a correct pose:
Smart light bulb:
Internet-connected water bottle:
Oh yeah... I saw someone on TV mention, totally calmly, that the internet of things would be great for catching terrorists because now all that data would be available to law enforcement. It was just assumed that they could tap into any data they wanted to. Kinda freaked me out. Is that where we are now... we don't even care any more?
Not that it matters that much, because the state of internet security is so poor, you can just assume any piece of data is accessible to anyone who wants it.
Next thing you know, they will be making us exercise every morning before work. The people complaining about slow internet out in the boonies? They are the only lucky ones not being watched.
@looseneck Honestly, I could probably use a bit of forced exercise every day...
@looseneck
you make healthy now! faster production. better workers. exercise for your country.
@connorbush A thousand people farting in my face? I think not!
@DaveInSoCal Hey! You in the sunken living room with shag carpet! Lift those feet a little higher!
@looseneck Exactly why I fear going up stairs or escalators immediately behind other people. Face is exactly at arse level.
What do you say to someone that says:
"I am not a terrorist so I do not care who watches, my life is boring so they can watch me."
This person believes they are data until the data tells the government they need to be monitored. And if they are monitored the government will see they have nothing to hide.
@caffeine_dude
1. Anything the "government" (and that includes everyone from the FBI to your local police department) can see is also available to anyone who can hack a government website. And while most high-level federal sites are reasonably secure, does anyone really think their local Sheriff's Dept. computer net is safe? Hackers seriously don't give a crap if you are a terrorist, but they do care about your home security setup, your work schedule and when you are gone from home, the devices you have with your bank info, passwords, personal data that could be used for identity theft, and that you keep your valuables in a tomato soup can in the pantry.
2. They trust everyone in the government? They think no government employee would ever mishandle their info or sell it?
3. At what point DO they object? Is micro-chipping babies a good thing, because the child could be tracked if kidnapped? How about adults?
@rockblossom He believes in security by obscurity. If everyone is being watched no one is. How likely is it he will be targeted if everyone is watched. Also I have heard him say it does not matter I have nothing to hide. Essentially he is chipped, his phone always is reporting his location.
@caffeine_dude Easy way to cure him of that- tell him to hand over his email and banking passwords. When he objects, ask him why not, and remind him that he says he's got nothing to hide.
This article covers it wonderfully.
Also. remind him that the NSA grabbed the call metadata of every Verizon Wireless customer without warrants- which tells you just about as much about them as the actual call contents (see here: Why Metadata Matters)
@dashcloud I read both and his public attitude is I do not care, and my life is too boring to care about.
@caffeine_dude Perhaps a good example of the problem they might better understand is what happened with the TSA keys for your luggage when flying. The government wanted access to your luggage and the flying public wanted to keep their valuables secure from potentially sticky-fingered baggage handlers, so they started offering locks with a backdoor master key the TSA could open, but with unique designs that were supposed to be difficult to pick. Which is fine because you have nothing to hide from the government and the keys would be restricted to a secure area with cameras so they could only be used for authorized purposes. Except pictures of the keys leaked and now anyone can use a 3D printer to create their own set, so the criminally-inclined baggage handlers can keep a set on them and open anyone's bags anywhere. This is functionally the same as building a backdoor for the government into encryption; maybe the government will only use it for good (but how much do you really trust the government and the people working for it?), but there's a strong incentive for people with bad intentions to gain access to that method, and it's likely at some point someone will, either by stealing it from the government or reverse-engineering the method independently.
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
I'm waiting for the Internet of Nothings.
Related to this, and @caffeine_dude's question: Apple is resisting the FBI's demand for a backdoor into iOS's encryption. Cc: @rockblossom @dashcloud
@jqubed And in considering what kind of phone I will buy next, Apple's stock just went way up. I'm waiting to see whether the other phone makers will follow, because Apple's concerns about backdoor programs is spot-on.
@rockblossom Last I checked Android itself doesn't have a backdoor either and is supposed to have decent encryption. On computers the hard disk encryption built into Mac OS is good. On Windows the Feds asked Microsoft to build a backdoor into BitLocker; Microsoft says they didn't but I've also seen that that isn't particularly believed by security researchers. The EFF recommends using DiskCryptor instead. If your device uses an SSD or some other flash-based storage it's more important to encrypt the drive than it was with magnetic disks because you can't actually securely delete data from an SSD the way you can from a magnetic disk. Encrypting the drive will at least help make sure your data is unreadable after it's deleted.
@rockblossom If you're fine with Apple's stuff, it's the most secure phone you can buy (you do need a few tweaks for maximum security).
@jqubed It's good to see them take a stand on this. The government is overreaching by miles and Apple is most definitely right in fighting it. However, I have little hope that the ruling will land in favor of Apple/the general public. Our government has gotten very comfortable with flat out ignoring the 4th amendment since 9/11.
The joys of being mostly amish.