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The Privacy Problem Associated With All Mobile Phones (Even 'Dumb' Ones) is Worse Than Snowden Put It



Video download link | md5sum ffeb8228626c617dc460346bbdfcd48c Worse Than Snowden Put It Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0



Summary: Edward Snowden's sensational impact turns 10 next year (in summer); for some reason many people still think privacy and ownership [sic] of a mobile phone aren't inherently incompatible

THE fantasy of mobile phones that respect freedom is nothing short of fantasy. They do a lot more harm, at the very least to privacy, than whatever "good". As long as they're connected to a network (carrier), they're beyond redemption and it doesn't matter what network carriers say. You simply cannot trust them.



The video goes through about half of this old video (about 3 years old). It's Snowden at the Rogan show. Snowden is far too polite; he's trying not to admonish or offend the many listeners/viewers the vast majority of whom have a mobile phone, sometimes even a "smart" (a lot more sensors and signals) so-called 'phone' -- i.e. one in which benefits are asymmetrically in favour of surveillance companies, not the person who bought the darn thing.

"Well, an encrypted device should not be carried around, certainly not while connected to a network. Under the guise of "Librem" or "Purism" or "Freedom(Phone)" a lot of ambitious (or dishonest) people have pushed false promises."Quit listening to companies that claim to have resolved this issue; it's infeasible. I've given a thought to this issue for 2 decades already. It cannot be done and hasn't been doable for decades. Yesterday TechDirt published "Encrypted Phone Provider Calls It Quits After Failing To Persuade Middlemen To Roll Their Own Device Management Systems"; this is related to the topic, but not quite the same. There are many aspects which imperil the prospects, including physical access to the device, back doors in the baseband OS, and so on. "Over the past few years," it says, "international law enforcement has been cracking down on encrypted device purveyors. We’re not just talking about regular device encryption, which has been mainstream for several years now. These would be specialized manufacturers that appear to cater to those seeking more protection than the major providers offer — services that ensure almost no communications/data originating from these phones can be obtained from third-party services."

Well, an encrypted device should not be carried around, certainly not while connected to a network. Under the guise of "Librem" or "Purism" or "Freedom(Phone)" a lot of ambitious (or dishonest) people have pushed false promises. In the wake of Snowden's NSA leaks several companies made proclamations and announcements (e.g. Blackphone) and where are they now? There are ways to communicate securely and anonymously. Mobile devices like "smart" phones aren't among the options.

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