Re: The problem is...
>>"Well look at the track record. Skype has end to end encryption, but they happily share the encryption keys with everyone claiming to have something like a warrant."
They're less keen to share their own internal business data and executive's emails. Talking about a willingness to give up their non-paying customer's communications in a select business sector is hardly supporting a case that "the industry" doesn't care about encryption. We care very much and we don't want weak or backdoor'ed security for our company data. Let's take your other example:
>>"Look at the Clipper Chip, a deliberately broken encryption device which many companies wanted to build into their systems."
Rubbish. Practically no-one wants the government to come along and start telling them how to run their business. The Clipper Chip was formally dead within about three years of announcement which is probably some kind of record for cancelling stupid government IT projects. It was widely criticised by business as flawed both because no-one could really verify if it would keep their data safe, few wanted the US government poking around inside their company without their knowledge and it was unenforceable outside the USA putting American business at a MAJOR disadvantage to their European customers. The industry doesn't care about much except for money. When it comes to a choice between money and dancing to whatever silly tune the government is playing today, even that long-term government buddy Microsoft will go to court to try and fend it off.
Stop trying to re-write history to support your weird Eighties view of "the industry" as being some hostile Other. I've no doubt you could find some companies that publically acceded to the Clipper Chip idea but painting it as something businesses were happy about or didn't resist is not honest at all.
>>"Industry espionage is just an argument to use against governments."
I don't even understand what point you're trying to make here. You seem to be saying - and your following paragraphs backs this up - that you think industrial espionage is some sort of false front / excuse. In which case you have NO idea what you are talking about. None.
>>"In reality even the companies that do use e-mail encryption use it on deeply flawed systems. This isn't a problem as the really important internal information is usually not leaving the building."
Important information is usually not leaving the building??? I have almost nothing to say to this because anyone with any experience simply knows that this is wrong. "The building"? I'm staggered that someone can even think of some single business site for even a medium-sized business, let alone that important information is never taken outside of it.
>>"Companies tend to broadly overestimate the benefit of their work falling into a competitors hand. Few companies have much knowledge that isn't also known by their competitors."
This is beyond stupid. If our salespeople knew how much our competitors were about to bid, if they knew our release schedule or planned new features or corporate strategy, if someone had access to our internal vulnerability reports... You do not know at all what you are talking about and are making things up to support your worldview. Do you have ANY idea how much corporate espionage has taken place between China and the USA over the last decade? Obviously not.
Quite simply: if you don't know what you're talking about, don't pretend to.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
