E-mail's Big Privacy Problem: Q&A With Silent Circle Co-Founder Phil Zimmermann
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Customers of Silent Circle’s encrypted mail service got an unfortunate surprise on Friday: all their messages had been deleted. The management of Silent Circle, an encryption firm that specializes in smartphone communication, abruptly shut down their e-mail service yesterday, saying they were pre-empting the U.S. government from forcing them to hand over customer data. While they were confident they could protect text messages, voice calls and video calls, e-mail had always been less secure because it relied on standard Internet protocols.
Silent Circle’s mail server was in Canada. Think about that for a minute...
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Customers of Silent Circle’s encrypted mail service got an unfortunate surprise on Friday: all their messages had been deleted. The management of Silent Circle, an encryption firm that specializes in smartphone communication, abruptly shut down their e-mail service yesterday, saying they were pre-empting the U.S. government from forcing them to hand over customer data. While they were confident they could protect text messages, voice calls and video calls, e-mail had always been less secure because it relied on standard Internet protocols.
Silent Circle’s mail server was in Canada. Think about that for a minute...
I forget who, if I saw his name I would recall it immediately (CP'er). There was a rant going on about "internet control" and he made some comment I found offensive. After watching the last few years, I sincerely apologize. He basically made the comment that there were some people in the world that had reservations about the US controlling the internet.... This is so in your face that it defies comprehension...
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783 “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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I forget who, if I saw his name I would recall it immediately (CP'er). There was a rant going on about "internet control" and he made some comment I found offensive. After watching the last few years, I sincerely apologize. He basically made the comment that there were some people in the world that had reservations about the US controlling the internet.... This is so in your face that it defies comprehension...
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783 “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
You'll love this: Jennifer Hoelzer's Insider's View Of The Administration's Response To NSA Surveillance Leaks[^] Jennifer Hoelzer is "former deputy chief of staff for Ron Wyden," the same Senator Wyden who's been saying stuff like this for a few years now:
Quote:
As members of the Senate Intelligence Committee we have been provided with the executive branch's classified interpretation of those provisions and can tell you that we believe there is a significant discrepancy between what most people -- including many Members of Congress -- think the Patriot Act allows the government to do and what government officials secretly believe the Patriot Act allows them to do.
Whatever you think of the policies in play, the sausage making is fascinating to watch.
Director of Content Development, The Code Project