Everyone has heard of the classic defense of every violation of our privacy, of every move towards a police state:
“If you aren’t doing anything wrong, what do you have to hide?”
I hate that line, but there isn’t a comeback to it that is quite as cutting and apt. So here are many ideas from Bruce Schneier and, as an article, it is the perfect sledgehammer for that depressing slogan of the security over privacy brigade. Read the rest of this entry »
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
– William Pitt, House of Commons, 11/18/1783
The NSA wiretapping story is close to becoming forgotten (read: Valerie Plame), or worse, old news (read: Bolton) or worse still, political (read: everything else). I can deal with forgotten- this article should help- but if this story is slipping into either of the other two categories, we are in trouble. Read the rest of this entry »
Bruce Schneier has an interesting piece on the flawed logic used against using cell phones on airplanes. Apparently authorities are worried about terrorist use of cell phones to co-ordinate their activities or to trigger attacks. From his blog:
…security countermeasures that force the attackers to make a minor modification in their tactics aren’t very good trade-offs. Banning cell phones on airplanes only makes sense if the terrorists are planning to use cell phones on airplanes, and will give up and not bother with their attack because they can’t. If their plan doesn’t involve air-to-ground communications, or if it doesn’t involve air travel at all, then the security measure is a waste. And even worse, we denied ourselves all the good uses of the technology in the process.
There are probably reasons rooted in social impropriety that are more valid than the phantom terrorist threat. The original article Schneier is commenting on is here at news.com.au.
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