beltorak 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (378)

• On the post: Congress Eagerly Leaked Classified Information To Try To Discredit Snowden For Leaking Classified Information

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2015 @ 01:31pm

  Re: President To Prison

  that would be hilarious if he won by popular vote.
  
  unfortunately he cannot hold that office this cycle.

• On the post: New Zealand Steps In To Block US Gov't From Stealing All Of Kim Dotcom's Stuff

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2015 @ 03:11pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Stop the charade

  that's easy! we've already solved that problem!
  
  It's a bit slower than some other distribution platforms I could name, but it works! (in theory anyway....)

• On the post: Steve Albini Takes On 'Parasitic' Record Labels And Copyright's 'Outdated' Illusion Of Control

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 01 Jun, 2015 @ 01:51pm

  Re: Re: "...you don’t need contracts..."

  I vaguely remember having an on online discussion with someone who does freelance programming work. They used the length of the contract they created as a measure of how much they distrusted the other party. Once the contract grew past a certain length, they felt there was no point in pursuing the business opportunity.

• On the post: Company That Lets Parents Spy On Their Kids' Computer Usage… Has Database Hacked And Leaked

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 28 May, 2015 @ 06:17pm

  Re: If he triple-dog guaranteed...

  noob mistake right there. he should have jumped straight to the triple dog dare.

• On the post: Company That Lets Parents Spy On Their Kids' Computer Usage… Has Database Hacked And Leaked

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 28 May, 2015 @ 06:13pm

  Re: Re: Ok, seriously, what the hell?

  Technically, the CIO is in IT, yes? I fully suggest they be first on the chopping block.

• On the post: Paper Says Public Doesn't Know How To Keep Score In Privacy Discussion While Glossing Over Government Surveillance

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 23 May, 2015 @ 01:20pm

  The Snowden-Hayden Gap

  In the words of Edward Snowden: Twitter doesn't put warheads on foreheads. In the words of Michael Hayden: We kill people based on metadata.
  
  It's monumentally stupid, disingenuous, or both, to compare or contrast corporate surveillance and government surveillance without acknowledging this very important point.
  
  Once you acknowledge it, you have to contend with the fact that the government has the power (even if it doesn't have the right) to bridge the Snowden-Hayden Gap, coopting corporate surveillance for its own ends.

• On the post: Senate Fails To Pass Both USA Freedom And PATRIOT Act Extension, Setting Up Possible Expiration Of Section 215

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 23 May, 2015 @ 12:46pm

  Re: Pressure from the NSA via biographical leverage

  spying data is currently not admissible in court, that's the whole reason for parallel construction. and it is almost impossible for the defense to prove.
  
  Agreed. Encrypt all the things. So what's your public key?
  
  Almost no one has any, because that's a pain in the ass. Usability is important too.

• On the post: FBI Director Claims That The World's Most Knowledgeable Cybersecurity Experts Are Not 'Fair Minded' About Encryption Backdoors

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 22 May, 2015 @ 12:22pm

  Re: 7 perpendicular lines

  if you relax the definitions a bit, you end up with this:
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7MIJP90biM

• On the post: FBI Director Claims That The World's Most Knowledgeable Cybersecurity Experts Are Not 'Fair Minded' About Encryption Backdoors

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 22 May, 2015 @ 12:19pm

  Re: Comey's right, of course.

  The only reason no one really knows the backdoor sauce for the NSA NIST EC curves is that the standard was never widely used. (My theory is that there really isn't a backdoor, but they created the algorithm and points to look like there could be (or they destroyed the secrets after creation) so they could refine their techniques at slipping shit past the standards body...)
  
  If it had actually come into widespread use, more people would be looking at it. It's not an easy problem (like FEAL was), so there would have to be more incentive into finding the backdoor. I imagine some of the experts would have pooled their money and offered a prize to add even more incentive.

• On the post: FBI Director Claims That The World's Most Knowledgeable Cybersecurity Experts Are Not 'Fair Minded' About Encryption Backdoors

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 22 May, 2015 @ 12:09pm

  Re: The technical term

  Actually, I think it is literally impossible, not just NP hard. As in "DRM" impossible. As in "P = !P" impossible. In fact, I think this reduces down to DRM - how do you share a piece of information (e.g.: the magic golden key, or knowledge of a backdoor) with a party in such a way that it will never be used for a purpose that was not intended?

• On the post: FBI Director Claims That The World's Most Knowledgeable Cybersecurity Experts Are Not 'Fair Minded' About Encryption Backdoors

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 22 May, 2015 @ 12:06pm

  Re: Re: I'm so glad to be called uninformed...

  Hey now, the only thing "inopportune" about logjam and heartbleed is that the NSA is embarrassed about not finding them before we did.
  
  Unless of course they did find them, in which case it's the revelation that's inopportune.

• On the post: FBI Director Claims That The World's Most Knowledgeable Cybersecurity Experts Are Not 'Fair Minded' About Encryption Backdoors

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 22 May, 2015 @ 12:03pm

  Re: Re: Re: Re:

  I don't know if I'd consider Trent to be on our side here, given the problems we have with CAs and whatnot.
  
  I'm not familiar with Walter, Sybil, or Wendey; it's been a long while since I looked at the literature.

• On the post: DOJ Redefines Separation Of Powers, Tells Court It Has No Power To Order Government To Hand Over Documents

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 18 May, 2015 @ 09:52pm

  Re: Re:

  Don't worry sir. Whether or not the building has plumbing, we'll find the leaky pipe that destroyed the tapes.

• On the post: DOJ Redefines Separation Of Powers, Tells Court It Has No Power To Order Government To Hand Over Documents

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 18 May, 2015 @ 06:38pm

  how much does anyone want to bet that the moment the DOJ has no choice but to hand over the tapes, it will have been discovered that they were "stored improperly" and "damaged beyond usefulness"? how many leaky basements does the executive branch have?

• On the post: Wyoming Makes Reporting Environmental Disasters Illegal

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 14 May, 2015 @ 12:57pm

  Re: Re: Re: the Feds are even worse

  ... as long as you didn't ... you were probably safe ignoring ...
  
  Seems to me this is exactly how we get into selective enforcement problems....

• On the post: Wyoming Makes Reporting Environmental Disasters Illegal

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 14 May, 2015 @ 01:00pm

  wait. did they just make it illegal to report illegal activity to the authorities?
  
  i... i swear i ... is it... did....
  
  wut??!?

• On the post: Huge Win: Appeals Court Says NSA's Bulk Phone Records Collection Not Actually Authorized By PATRIOT Act

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 07 May, 2015 @ 08:31am

  Bravo

  Quoted chapter and verse from the dictionary; the epitome of "being schooled".
  
  Maybe I'm too optimistic, but relying on Snowden's leaks in the official ruling may mean that Snowden will eventually be able to come home to something other than a straight up lynching, right?

• On the post: Encryption: What The FBI Wants It Can Only Have By Destroying Computing And Censoring The Internet

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 06 May, 2015 @ 01:05pm

  Re: Re: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

  SysEx seems to be part of MIDI:
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI#System_Exclusive_messages
  
  Maybe some entrerprising midi enthusiast will enlighten us?

• On the post: New Version Of USA Freedom Surveillance Reform Bill To Hit The House This Week

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 28 Apr, 2015 @ 09:30pm

  Re: Re: Re: words words

  You would think so, and you would be completely reasonable in doing so; but they've already redefined "imminent" to mean "not imminent". I don't know why anyone trusts them anymore, since it's clear that when they say something they usually mean something else, if not the exact opposite.
  
  

  the condition that an operational leader present an "imminent" threat of violent attack against the United States does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons will take place in the immediate future.

  
  
  - http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/02/obamas-memo-on-killing-americans-twists-imminent-threat-like-bush/272862/

• On the post: New Version Of USA Freedom Surveillance Reform Bill To Hit The House This Week

  

  beltorak ( profile ), 28 Apr, 2015 @ 01:48pm

  words words

  If the government uses the same definition chicanery for "emergency" that it does for "imminent threat", then there's plenty to worry about.

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