Bonum Certa Men Certa

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.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Frequent Flyers of the 'Lolita Express' (Where Screwing Underage Girls is Big Business)
In the words of Bill's wife and mother of his 3 children
How "Open Source" Became Microsoft (But It's Actually Proprietary, OSI is an Openwashing Front Group Now)
They're still trying to rewrite history, but it's harder when Richard Stallman (RMS) is alive
Microsoft-Sponsored Inauguration as a Reminder to Boycott Microsoft
If you do not support what's happening politically right now in the US, then stop giving money (or anything else) to Microsoft
Fund-Raising for Initiative Introducing Teens to Free Software Instead of Junk Like Bytedance's TikTok
A crowdfunding campaign coming soon
The Fall of Corporate Media Controlled by Oligarchs Who Boost (or Are Compelled to Boost) Reckless Lies About the Poor While Normalising Rich People's Crimes
No wonder they have layoffs
 
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, January 25, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, January 25, 2025
Gemini Links 25/01/2025: Plaintext Weblog Posts and Software Development
Links for the day
More Details Emerge About Upcoming Long-Rumoured Layoffs at IBM
Without leadership there's no coordination
Links 25/01/2025: Microsoft Chaffbot Offline and Advocacy/Dissent in China Muzzled
Links for the day
Bringing Down or Taking Down an Innocent Man is Difficult
One positive thing about all this is that we've come to witness (and meticulously document) how social control media works for the mob
Plagiarism at LinuxSecurity.com, Piggybacking Other People's Hard Work and Googlebombing "Linux"
They are googlebombing Google, and worse yet, they leverage bots to do this
Gemini Links 25/01/2025: Pictographs, Non-voters, and Frustrations
Links for the day
Links 25/01/2025: Microsoft Already Shutting Down Its UK "Experience Centre", "AI Deal" Linked to Atrocities
Links for the day
Red Hat is Required to Promote Microsoft's Proprietary Stuff and Even Produce Puff Pieces (Mindless Fluff) About It
Notice the aspect of bribed "media" or "news" or "press coverage" (pay-to-say)
The Limits of Freedom
This is generally not a new problem
IBM Layoffs (or Replacement With Low-Cost Labourers) Far Greater Than Reported by IBM
they serve to confirm what we've long said not only in relation to IBM but also Microsoft
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, January 24, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, January 24, 2025
Rumour of IBM 'Bloodbath' in Clown Computing
Performance Improvement Plans mean one step ahead or before layoffs
Dr. Andy Farnell: "Richard Stallman Chose to Stand For the Rights of People to Use Technology as They Wish. He Chose Freedom Instead of Riches."
Keeping busy in public transport
(Live-)Stream of Richard Stallman's Latest Talk in Europe (No Longer Live)
The latest public talk and Live-Streamed schedule were announced early on for the public to know about
Gemini Links 24/01/2025: Drehgriffel, Computer Science and Capitalism
Links for the day
Microsoft Lost a Ton of Market Share in Web Servers Last Month (the Last Month of 2024) and Massive Losses Continue in 2025, Shows New Report
Microsoft down sharply
Richard Stallman is Already in India, Giving Talks About Microsoft Chaffbots and More
he's already giving some talks in India
Microsoft (Nick Vidal) and Co-opting "Open Future" With Microsoft-led "Open Source AI Definition" (Openwashing LLM Slop and GPL Violations)
Microsoft is tainting all sorts of groups via the OSI
Drunk on Chatbots, LinuxSecurity.com Spews Out More LLM Slop About "Wine"
They just keep googlebombing "Linux" and "Security" using slop
Gemini Links 24/01/2025: The "Hey Hi" Hype Continues Fading, Tesla/X/Twitter/SpaceX Associate With Nazism
Links for the day
Robbery at the European Patent Office (EPO), Office Staff as 'Prisoners'
publication from the Central Staff Committee, dated yesterday
Techrights in 0.036 Seconds
Combining Gemini and HTTP/S, yesterday we served an impressive number of requests
BetaNews Run by Plagiarism Bots That Googlebomb (for SEO) "Linux"
Google rewards and thus encourages plagiarism
Microsoft, IBM, and Front Groups That Advance Racism for Profit
IBM has profited a lot from racism and it still does
FOSDEM and 'No Nazis'
the issue isn't wealth but principles
IBM Titles Considered Worthless and Many IBM 'Fellows' Are Vanishing (Also: IBM Staff Inside Linux Attacks the Rights of Computer Users for Recognition or Rewards Like "Distinguished Engineer")
James Bottomley is still "a Distinguished Engineer at IBM"
Gemini Links 24/01/2025: "Social" Control Media is Unsatisfying; An Old Call for a Gemini Without TLS
Links for the day
[Meme] Levels of Outrage
Apparently it's hip for criminals to leverage "the law" to silence their exposers
Links 24/01/2025: Earthquake, Landslide, and Official Implicated in Airplane With Landing Gear Issues (Boeing Plane) "Found Dead"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 23, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, January 23, 2025