FBI Wants Mandatory Backdoors

I remember restrictions on data encryption strength back in the 90's....hence why the Opera browser became popular....it wasn't a US design/origin and thus outside their 'law'...;)

I also remember Babylon 5 being engineered on 3 Amiga 3000s which had to be smuggled out of the US because there was a 'restriction' on 'powerful systems' being exported.

Quoting Jafo, reply 1

I remember restrictions on data encryption strength back in the 90's....hence why the Opera browser became popular....it wasn't a US design/origin and thus outside their 'law'...

End of Jafo's quote

Indeed...and the low encryption level allowed their spying back then as well. In fact, the whole FREAK exploit occurred because of them never fixing the faults they put into SSL/TLS...

http://www.pcrisk.com/internet-threat-news/8742-freak-encryption-flaw-a-remnant-from-the-1990s-affects-all-browsers

Just underlines my point about the compromises THEY cause and the damage resultant from it.

I went to a cyber security conference recently and the keynote was given by a Europrean expert about how software companies are going to ratchet up their privacy capabilities in response to U.S. spying activities. The general tone I got was most non-Americans, at least security experts, are opposed to government spying. I can totally see companies like Microsoft bending over and creating back doors. But if that happens you will start to see a huge surge of non-American competition that won't have the back doors. I almost welcome it.

I think Uncle Sam got himself caught up in a catch-22 type thing. Dammed if you do and dammed if you don't. Might as well do it and be dammed anyway.

Oh, mandatory 'back doors?  ummm to better sc*ew* you?

"If you got nothing to hide"

You got my six?

Your lack of faith in the Empire disturbs Darth Vader. 

Is the US gov't so paranoid that it'll go to absolutely any ends to implement 'security' measures that generally screw over its own people?

Sadly, the Australian and other governments have gone down the same slippery slope, putting in place measures that harm or inconveience law abiding citizens more than the intended targets, and now, where communists were once the most distrusted form of government, all forms/types of government, democratic or otherwise, have quite rightfully earned the distrust and disrespect of their own peoples.

Put bluntly, governments need to consider their own people first, and what truly is in their best interests, and if/when everybody abides by that then there's no need to worry about who else may be doing what, because they too are worrying more about their own people than yours... what you may be doing.

Yeah, I know.... in a perfect world.  Fact is, the world is fucked up because we've given politicians too much free reign... and now we're all paying for it because the idiots continually fail to put the genie back in the bottle.

Without putting on a tinfoil hat, I think there are four groups responsible for this mess (there is some overlap in these groups):

1. Elected officials in office who don't want a catastrophe to occur on their watch because they may not get re-elected

2. Government employees who truly don't want people to get hurt, and are willing to go against the Constitution to that end, whether knowingly or not

3. Citizens who want Big Brother to take any means necessary to provide security

4. Citizens who don't care what the Government does to provide a little security because "I have nothing to hide."

Note that I did not specify a country, this is pervasive in all countries! Only those of us with a passion for restricted government and some knowledge of history fight against this movement, and since we are a minority, that's why it's an uphill battle.

There is a 5th group!  Corporations!  Yes, the corporations that peddle hardware and software, arms and munitions to government.  They have a vested interest to keep sales flowing and growing, so perhaps corporations have ben in the ears of government with this and that 'potential' threat to drive up the need for 'counter' tech/equipment.

However, from this list of 5, I place the blame largely at the feet of politicians, the various government agencies and corporations.  They're the ones with the power and the means... and it was they who let the genie out of the bottle to begin with.  Thing is, it was never about security, national or otherwise to begin with, though that was the justification given.  No, it was about power and control, both governmental and corporate... by gaining the upper hand and subjugating those weaker, less capable nations. 

The only time it became about security was when various groups resorted to terrorism and struck at targets on US, British and Eurpean home soil.  Now I'm in no way condoning terrorism, nor violent protests, but I do sometimes wonder if we [the West] brought this upon ourselves through arrogance and a failure to understand the culture and beliefs of those we've aggrieved.  And let's not try to say we've aggrieved noone.  The West has a long history of sticking its nose where it wasn't invited, wanted or needed, imposing rules, laws and religious beliefs on those who had managed for thousands of years to manage their affairs without Western influences.... 'civilisation'.

Okay, so maybe I've digressed from the OT somewhat, but one needs to first understand the symptoms if a cure is to be found, and put simply, government, its agencies and corporations are not the parties to diagnose and implement recovery.  No, they are the cause and must be precludred if answers are to be found.  In other words, an independent commission must be given the authority to implement broad sweeping changes as to how government and its agencies behave with regard to privacy, spying and data collection, etc. 

Now I'm not singling out thr US, because the Brits and Australians have enough cock-ups to be ashamed of embarrassed about, but the US certainly has to address the political system that allows such corruption, graft and apathy to prevail... not to mention the greed and insatiable thirst for power that overrides whatever good there may have once been on Capitol Hill. Forget the Constitution... your elected officials have.  Worse still, you've all allowed them to.

It is curable, but it requires a true conscience vote on polling day and not just a tick for the incumbent,  who not only have betrayed everyone with his/her apathy, but also has a complete lack of respect for the office they hold.  In any event, things will not improve unless you throw the baby [read, illegitemate child] out with the bath water.

Yeah, I know, what the fech would I know, and maybe as a foreigner I should keep my mouth shut, but sometimes you can't see the smoke for the trees and it takes somebody from the outside looking in to call a spade a spade.

Orright, I'm done here... unless somebody has something compelling so say that demands/begs a reply.

We all know history repeats itself. Until the average joe shmoe recognizes it for what it is and does something about it from the git go. Unlikely as those in power back then are still in power today.

Rant over

No disagreements. Unfortunately our public schools and media have turn the average citizen into content sheep. The only chance of a wakeup call is if the government turns truly tyrannical, i.e. killing classes of people, and I think politicians aren't dumb enough or insane enough to try it. Alas, who is John Galt?

Backdoors in software (Windows, Linux, OSX) are just the top of the iceberg.

 I believe Intel/NSA access most computers through BIOS/UEFI firmware. Don't take my word for it. Research this yourself. It is sad but true.

 Intel Active Management Technology:

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Active_Management_Technology

 Coreboot developer about firmware capabilities:

 ”By that point, I made up my mind that the people behind Purism were either naive, or full of it. Deep in my heart, I wanted them to succeed, and I wanted to personally congratulate them for said success. I’m a coreboot developer; I know how this business rolls. I can make your firmware email me a daily digest of your passwords and Facebook activity, and you wouldn’t even know about it. I know what I’m talking about.”

 Source:

http://blogs.coreboot.org/blog/2015/02/23/the-truth-about-purism-why-librem-is-not-the-same-as-libre/

 The “real” OS in your new Intel/AMD computer is UEFI. It doesn't matter what you install on top of it. Only Microsoft will be unhappy if you install Linux. Big brother doesn't care. That's why Russia is developing their own (under-performing) CPU. They know they are screwed with Intel hardware.

 “Intel inside…idiot outside” - made me smile.

Regardless of whether it's being used nefariously or not(it exists, so odds are it is), the reason things such as WOL exist are purely economical.  If you boot up a thousand machines each morning when people you're sure are too stupid to turn their own on show up for work, you don't want to do it manually a machine at a time.

One could argue that people can turn their own damned machines on and it's a superfluous exercise in stupidity by management, but it still has efficiency savings, and efficiency is what gets the corporate world wet.  Intel designs architecture first and foremost, for corporations.  The typical consumer purchaser buys a Dell or something, has no idea of it's actual capabilities, what it ships with, etc.  A fortune 500 company has a team of engineers telling them whether the hundred thousand units they're going to order are actually going to be worth it.

They may not actually be accurate in their assessments all of the time, if ever, but they still do things based on the perception that this or that feature will save them money in the form of efficiency gains. 

No reason to believe the firmware in smartphones is any more 'secure' either.  Or your WiFi router, for that matter.

I learned something while at a solicitor's office yesterday!  I don't know about other Australian states/territories, but Queensland drivers licences are encoded with a chip that allows authorities to know where a particular Queensland license holder is at any time, and that's not just within the state but Australia wide..... if the person has the license on their person, that is. 

State law, though, does require license holders to carry it upon the at all times, particularly when driving, so should a driver or wanted person with a drivers license be picked up without it in their immediate possession it is an offence which carries large fines and even imprisonment, depending on the circumstances... eg, deliberate evasion, etc.

Hmmm, it seems that Australia, well more Queensland in this case, has been infected by the 'big brother is watching' bug [pun intended] more than I first thought.  Now it might not alarm those with 'nothing to hide, but I find it somewhat disturbing that more and more aspects of our lives are coming under greater surveillance and/or scrutiny by the powers that be.  I mean, where does it stop... with CCTV in our homes watching out every move... being 'chipped' like pets so government and its agents know all about our heritage, where we come from, what we're doing and where we're going?

What is reading that chip? I sincerely doubt it has GPS and transmission capability.

I have no idea what reads it or how, I was just told by a lawyer in converstation that a client of his was located 2 states away via his drivers license, and that the gov't issued photo ID I'm seeking will likely have the same chip implemented, according to legislation just passed in the parliament.  I really don't like the idea, but I currently have no acceptable photo ID and I really need it since the new 'security' measures of late.... not that it's really about beefing up security.  That's the excuse but it's more about beefing up government coffers at 60 bucks a hit.

Just get out of the 'deep north'....what sun you get there in between storms and floods [that prevents you from having daylight saving cos it fades the blinds and confuses the cows] just pickles your [collective] brain.

In Vic you are 'required' to carry your licence when driving...but if you don't have it you can just show it at your local cop shop within 7 days.

Of course, I can cite the number from memory and they can always look it up with the onboard comp.... but it's no hassle to carry...been doing so for 42 years...;p

Having a photo-ID at hand comes in handy often, anyway.

I've never heard of any GPS-type chip being put on any licence in Oz.  That's pure tinfoil hat territory...;p

When it comes to tracking chips, it's not GPS, it's an RFID.  GPS tracking is a battery burner, it can't be done passively like you need for a credit card size application.

Oz isn't using any yet though, they have a biometrics chip in Queensland, which would fit the lawyer's commentary.  You go into a gas station or something, scan your license to buy some booze, and they've got your position.  Any place you'd end up verifying your ID at gives them a data point when they go looking to see where you've been.  It is not, however, transmitting.  If you're using credit/debit to make a purchase, you're not even giving any new tracking data to be had.

I'm not so sure it is... tinfoil hat territory, that is.  A Lawyer with a recent experience was the source.  He also indicated that police equpped with scanners can tell if a chipped license is valid and if there are any breaches/warrants attached to it before the driver is pulled over/stops the car.... it apparently has a range of 200 metres.

Like I said, I'm not sure, but given recent events and advancements in tech... how fechen nosey gov't and its agents are, nothing would surprise me anymore.

There was a front page article in the New York Times yesterday (5/30/15) about new laws in China focused on restoring 'rule of law' - read homeland security - that requires mandatory backdoors just like these on all foreign software introduced into their market.

I disapprove of the FBI inserting backdoors, simply on civil liberty grounds. Yet the one reason for surveillance/engineered vulnerabilities that rarely comes up in media, and actually seems like it MIGHT be a good one, is that we are in a Cyber War with China. And it seems absolutely in China's interest to destabilize our economy through cyber harassment.

So the FBI thinks that these backdoors allow them to catch Chinese hackers during industrial espionage/sabotage. I might actually support that goal. But as mentioned above, introducing security vulnerabilities will makes ALL systems LESS secure in the long run. The Chinese just need to get their hands on the backdoor keys!

Are the FBI turning to backdoors because they are completely out of ideas?

U.N. report recommends against encryption backdoors