NSA Whistleblower;You will never be safe whatever protections you put in place."

Edward Snowden, NSA files source: 'If they want to get you, in time they will'

Interesting and scary at the same time!

I wonder though when he says "we can plant bugs in machines" does he mean physically, or through malware that is undetectable by AV and anti-Malware software?

 

Probably both. I wouldn't be surprised if there was hardware based tracking.

 

Here how he communicated with the press, using GPG.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/10/edward-snowden-glenn-greenwald_n_3416978.html

 

I can only see that they mention PGP, not GPG? GPG is an application, but the protocol is called PGP (or OpenPGP).

We have had several requests from governments, and they don't even ask for the PGP-encrypted data, most likely because they know they can't decrypt it.
There will always be ways to protect yourself, it's just a matter of knowledge and motivation.

 

Yeah, you are right. My mistake, sorry.

 

Yes, in my opinion it is possible. 100% security is an impossibility, but so is 100% attack success.

 

Psh. That's all hogwash. Don't you guys know the gubbment can easily decrypt these off-the-shelf encryption products, especially these free ones with unknown developers?

Forget the fact that court report after court report, after news report after news report demonstrate that agencies have had to resort to other tactics because they couldn't break the encryptions. Forget the fact that the high level tech analyst for both the CIA and NSA used PGP for his covert communications to pull off one of the biggest whistleblowing operations in US history.

No no. Sure as s*** you can't expect any of these kinds of programs to withstand major scrutiny. Anyone who thinks otherwise is misguided. Users like this senior-level NSA analyst who consider major governments to be among their adversaries should know better than to place their trust in any off-the-shelf encryption products. They are just completely inappropriate for storing the type of data that can get a person interrogated, tortured or imprisoned.

 

If Snowden insisted on PGP, that says something.

 

Jackman, Again - I agree with you. But why do you have to be so acerbic? And especially with Dantz who has done so much around here for so many. It's like you're looking at every post as an opportunity to be condescending and inflammatory. I don't get it.

 

Great word

No, not at all. Sorry if it seems that way. I just found it kind of ironic that a few days after we're told anyone who uses "off-the-shelf" encryption products like that for any sort of secret of any significant consequence is "misguided", perhaps the biggest leak in US history occurs...and literally the day after the person who suggested it doubles down on his claim (and kind of condescends to me in the process), alleging their use is "completely inappropriate", it's revealed the tech analyst of virtually the highest level, for the CIA and the NSA, used PGP to pull it off.

Certainly you find that at least a little funny?

 

I don't agree with you at all. *Edit: unless I misunderstood your position? :O

I have read numerous court reports and I have been involved in dozens of government request. In those cases where the user used the encryption application the correct way, government failed to decrypt the data. In cases where they managed to decrypt the data, the accused person had always made some mistake, like low-entrophy-passwords or no protection against side-channel attacks . I'm not talking about rubber-hose attacks now, such attacks is of course more difficult to protect against.

 

Well there we go. What is it they say about satire? No matter how obvious you think you are, someone will always take you seriously?

I'm kinda disappointed actually. Thought I laid it on pretty thick, to be honest.

 

Ok, but I actually added: "*Edit: unless I misunderstood your position?". I'm not native in english, so I can blame it on that

 

Yeah I saw that after I posted. I was already replying before you made the edit, so I missed it

Never would have known.