2025-05-16 17:43:19
I think I’ll give it a go:
Whether you’re an at-risk individual – such as a journalist, elected official, or public figure – or you just prioritize security, Advanced Protection gives you the ability to activate Google’s strongest security for mobile devices, providing greater peace of mind that you’re protected against the most sophisticated threats.
https://security.googleblog.com/2025/05/advanced-protection-mobile-devices.html
2025-05-14 20:27:43
…and for my taste has (so far) entirely ignored the positive benefit of Snowden’s impact on online security and safety.
We would have: no WhatsApp or Messenger end-to-end encryption, no mainstream (e.g. BBC) “darkweb” sites, no/delayed TLS 1.3, no “Schrems” laws, reduced drive for PQ algorithm adoption, we would probably still be using RSA rather than EC and probably far less if any use of ephemeral, and the nation states of various countries would be popping the VPNs which implement WAN comms for platforms like Google, Facebook, and Apple. GCHQ would still be doing literally-illegal bulk collection of international comms links.
No RFC7258, either
In the podcast what we have is a neurotypical ex-CIA guy trying to paint Snowden as a naive narcissist, and a neurotypical ex-BBC guy striving for “BBC balance” which ends up burying the technological impact in questions of “but what was his actual motivation?”
And Runa Sandvik is one of the few people who can literally and personally attest to Snowden being a genuine and typical digital native infosec nerd, prior to the leak.
THAT was his motivation. Yes probably a sprinkling of libertarian/American political patriot thinking, but all of it on top of a thick layer of typical AuDHD/nerd “justice sensitivity and moral absoluteism” typically inflamed by watching too much Star Trek and Spider-Man.
If you are one of us, you understand this.
Snowden changed the world. He leveled the playing field in favor of the average user of the internet, and the people who want privacy and integrity of their communications more than having governments overseeing them.
Somebody needs to tell that story.
ps: major comic irony that the episode is sponsored by NordVPN, and what the presenters go on to say about the value proposition of VPNs.
pps: “available wherever you get your podcasts”
2025-05-14 09:43:02
I wonder how long before we see advertising?
2025-05-13 04:14:41
Perfection:
2025-05-09 18:25:20
Personally I’m disappointed that Wikipedia is not challenging the whole thing, but this is better than nothing:
The foundation said it was not challenging the act as a whole, nor the existence of the requirements themselves, but the rules that decide how a category 1 platform is designated.
2025-05-08 03:17:15
This is my technical definition of End-to-End Encryption* which can also be summarised as:
“there are ends; respect them”
…but this version has the advantage of being measurable.
I don’t believe I’ve previously posted this as a standalone blog post; the embedded video is my test run for the presentation which I subsequently gave at IETF 111 CFRG.
[*] strictly: end-to-end secure messaging.