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Why does the NSA's boss care so much about backdoors when he can just steal all our encryption keys?

dan1980

To have a backdoor - any backdoor - is to have a weak spot.

End of story.

Whatever assurances are given, whatever 'frameworks' are constructed and whatever oversight is in place, these apply only to 'legitimate' access. Even with the very best intentions and practices*, you can't promise that no one else will ever be able to find and utilise the artificial weak spot that has been created.

Perhaps there is a leak somewhere. Perhaps, given these backdoors must be conducted with industry help (generally), the information gets out after a targeted corporate hack. After all, the NSA are more than aware that with the right application of funds, know-how, technology and social engineering, you can hack pretty much any corporate entity.

Encryption is either secure or it isn't. Fuck your legal frameworks and fuck your Commies and witches scare tactics - if it has a backdoor, it is not secure.

If he would at least just come out and say that I would have some respect because he can't possibly not understand it. They are making the decision that it is worth weakening security for every citizen of their country (and indeed many others) to help them accomplish their goals. So just bloody well say so - say straight that these methods reduce the security of the public and open them up to potential hacking and theft but that the NSA believes that that is an acceptable price for the people to pay for the secure he is asserting they provide.

* - In some bizarro world . . .

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