[liberationtech] Billions of reasons why officials should not trust Zoom

[Yosem Companys]

Probably the small ones: Estonia, for example.






On Thu, Apr 9, 2020 6:52 PM, Andrés Leopoldo Pacheco Sanfuentes 
alps6085 at gmail.com  wrote:
Hey Doug, PLEASE, I’d like a simple example of, not even the plural you used,
but a single one: “governments [that] are all acting on our behalf, which may
actually be true in some locations in the world!!!"
Besides, there is a huge difference between “planning in secret” (BTW, the usual
rule in ALL of the FIRST WORLD) and issues of encryption..😈
Best Regards | Cordiales Saludos | Grato,

Andrés L. Pacheco Sanfuentes
<alps at acm.org>
+1 (347) 766-5008  
On Apr 9, 2020, at 12:21 PM, Doug Schuler <douglas at publicsphereproject.org>
wrote:
This is in no way to argue against security and the ability to keep organized
crime  from going where they don't belong — especially for financial
transactions and private information. On the other hand the line "Our
governments and their officials should plan in secret" seems to strengthen the
hand of despotic governments. It seems to imply that these governments are all
acting on our behalf, which may actually be true in some locations in the world.
I believe that government is absolutely necessary but without transparency
things are hopeless. In fact, maybe the new emphasis on conferencing *could*
help open things up.   I'm in a foul humor because I live in the US and yes,
"our" government does try very hard to "plan in secret."
— Doug


On Thu, Apr 9, 2020 at 9:58 AM Tim McNamara <paperless at timmcnamara.co.nz> wrote:
Hi all, keen to receive any feedback on this blog post I'm drafting...

BILLIONS OF REASONS WHY OFFICIALS SHOULD NOT TRUST ZOOM
This year has seen governments take unprecedented action to defeat the world's
most significant public health threat in over a century. Much of that action
involves money. Lots of money.

Officials and politicians deciding on economic stimulus packages around have a
problem: they can't talk face-to-face behind closed doors like they're used to.
Instead, they're turning to technology. Many of these services have unproven
security credentials. Using insecure tools will allow the worst elements in our
societies to benefit from the crisis.

Starting now, there is an increased financial incentive to break into video
conferencing systems. Billions, perhaps trillions, of dollars of subsidy money
will be provided by governments around the world. That money will be unevenly
spread. Many companies will fall. Some will not.

Organised criminals and hostile nation-states have significant technological
resources. They are well placed to exploit misplaced trust in computer systems.
Our governments and their officials should plan in secret. Guaranteed secrecy
while decisions are being made is the best way to keep economies alive.

Governments should consider hosting their own video conferencing platform.
Open-source tools such as Jitsi Meet, BigBlueButton and Apache OpenMeetings can
all be deployed cost-effectively and securely behind a firewall. Perhaps most
importantly, they don't require meeting participants to install anything onto
their computer.

Deploying these open source video conferencing technologies provides multiple
benefits. The security within the system can be validated. Staff managing the
service can be vetted. Data can stay local. Most importantly though, secrets can
stay secret.




Original https://cloud.nzoss.nz/s/F2r3rDZsEaypKNf

Tim McNamaraVice President, New Zealand Open Source SocietyAuthor, Rust in
Actionhttps://tim.mcnamara.nz  | @timClicks  

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