Author Topic: Secure Comms - are they really secure?  (Read 1239 times)

Stephen

Secure Comms - are they really secure?
« on: August 08, 2019, 09:40:52 PM »
This is sort of a continuation from an old post regarding TOR (http://seprepnet.com/forum/index.php/topic,1652.0.html):

Security on the web (or anywhere, really) is a matter of degree. I disagree with JWR's contention that one cannot securely communicate on the web ("Anyone who believes that anything they do via the Internet is “private” is fooling themselves."). The only questions are 1) What resources are available to those wanting to follow you, 2) How much of those limited resources are they willing to devote to your case, and 3) How careful are you? It's real easy for someone like JWR to make a blanket statement like that, but to do so makes me really question how much he truly knows about the topic (yes, I know what he says about his military intelligence background, etc.).

Here's an example that is both simple and realistic: Two guys with anonymous Protonmail accounts want to securely exchange ideas. Both use the TAILS operating system. Both encrypt their emails using the PGP standard, then send their emails - all within TAILS (and thus, within TOR). For all practical purposes, this is totally secure from a technical standpoint. The weak link in the chain at this point is non-technical - it's things like having a camera aimed at the computer screen, thugs grabbing you and saying things like "We have ways of making you talk...", blackmailing one of the guys, and that sort of thing. The actual message gets sent and received securely, but what happens before or after is the weak link.

Bottom Line: Don't let guys like JWR or some YouTube "expert" discourage you from learning, practicing, and using encryption for even the most routine emails. It is an important skill that is becoming more important by the day. If your activities are of such great interest that the government is ready to devote the kind of manpower and technical assets needed to effectively intercept and decrypt your communications, then you're traveling in a whole different world than us ordinary Earthlings are in.

cope

Re: Secure Comms - are they really secure?
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2019, 05:29:12 PM »
Stopped listening to John Wesley  Hyphen Rawles along time ago. Im with you I dont think he knows as much as he thinks he does. LOL.

Stephen

Re: Secure Comms - are they really secure?
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2019, 06:28:41 PM »
Agreed. I don't want this to turn into a JWR bashing thread, but when you're on the web, and you take great pains to remain "hidden", you can pretend to be anything you want to be. He has done some great things on his site, and I don't want to try and take that away from his credit. I just kind of get turned off any time someone takes the attitude that if you haven't been in the military, you're a useless idiot, but if you have, you're automatically Rambo in disguise. Not buying that one - known too many ex-military over the past 65 years to swallow that one.

 

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