[liberationtech] Wicker: D??j?? vu all over again

[Sandy Harris]

On Thu, Jun 12, 2014 at 8:19 AM, Rich Kulawiec <rsk at gsp.org> wrote:

> On Tue, Jun 10, 2014 at 10:08:26AM -0700, Yosem Companys wrote:

>> The mention of NDAs by the Wickr founder makes it a non-starter. Their web
>> site doesn't have any download link for the source files, nor mention of
>> open source, but they do mention patent pending technology. How do they
>> expect anyone to trust closed source, proprietary technology to be secure?
>
> Nobody should trust closed source, ever.  No matter the reputation of those
> behind it, no matter how sincere they appear to be: if it's not open source,
> it's fraud.
>
> Once again, I'll refer folks to:
>
>         https://mailman.stanford.edu/pipermail/liberationtech/2013-February/006964.html
>
> and the rather longer and more explanatory:
>
>         https://mailman.stanford.edu/pipermail/liberationtech/2013-March/007499.html
>
> Wickr (and anything like it) can be, should be, and must be immediately
> and permanently dismissed with prejudice.

Those links are very good, especially the 2nd. One reference for the
general principle involved is:
http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Kerckhoffs%27_Principle