Is this meant to inspire confidence?
Oh great. GCHQ outsourced to EDS. That helps me sleep at night. And I hope they have factored in the massive rise in the routine use of encryption by websites and email users, following the loss of confidence in the UK ISPs who signed up with Phorm to snoop on internet traffic using Deep Packet Inspection, and engage in industrial espionage on a hitherto unprecedented scale as they abuse commercial and private copyright. And the similar loss of confidence in the UK government's ability to protect both citizens and commerce from such interception by their facile feeble lackadaisacal attitude to the mass illegal interception of communications in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Enforcement action taken so far against BT, and Phorm - NIL.
Over the last year campaigners against Phorm and BT have warned government repeatedly about the loss of confidence in the internet, and the rise of routine encryption, with the consequential dangers of making life even MORE difficult for LEGAL WARRANTED interceptions carried out for anti-crime and security purposes. But sadly, government do not appear to have listened.
Stop the unwarranted mass interception of communications and you might just slow down the routine adoption of encryption by anyone who wants a measure of privacy for commercial and private personal use of the internet. Ignore the threat and GCHQ better budget for surveillance of an almost wholly encrypted internet. Which won't be easy or cheap. In fact it won't be possible at all at a practical level.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
