Post 1824811 by blakehaswell@social.coop
(DIR) More posts by blakehaswell@social.coop
(DIR) Post #1814449 by blakehaswell@social.coop
2018-12-07T21:56:41Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
I see a lot of anger about Australia's Anti-encryption Bill, but what are we actually doing about it? We can't let this fade away over the Christmas break and become just another news cycle. Let's get organised!
(DIR) Post #1814450 by bob@soc.freedombone.net
2018-12-07T22:25:16.620247Z
1 likes, 2 repeats
@blakehaswell One factor to consider is that if the Australian law is considered to be "successful" then similar laws will be passed elsewhere.Some possible tactics: - Ensure that any backdoors which the government adds are discovered and publicized - Work towards reproducible builds - Encourage everyone not to trust proprietary chat apps. Assume that such apps are already backdoored - Devise and deploy systems for monitoring the relevant open source projects. For example, a system which monitors open source chat apps and lists changes to cryptography related sections. Make code review of sensitive files trivial - The government won't follow its own laws, and will use apps which are not backdoored. Use FOIA or anything similar to check what apps are used/purchased by officials and point out the hypocrisy - Run cryptography workshops for your people. Make cryptography cool. Make it fashionable. Make songs and art about it. The government will prefer that people are uneducated on the topic
(DIR) Post #1814744 by tleydxdy@pl.smuglo.li
2018-12-07T22:52:51.363495Z
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@bobFree software. @blakehaswell
(DIR) Post #1815256 by mig5@mamot.fr
2018-12-07T22:55:41Z
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@blakehaswell one thing that troubles politicians is not getting votes.Labor probably has a surplus of confidence after the stunning win in Victoria.Come the federal election, they will need reminding that despite that, this grotesque backflip has undone that effort. As much as the fringes are not great options either, there should be a vocal boycott of both central parties and a high profile campaign site explaining why. Let’s see who promises a repeal at that point
(DIR) Post #1815257 by mig5@mamot.fr
2018-12-07T23:06:36Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
@blakehaswell of course, in a preferential system, they get the votes anyway, so it’s not a full solution.So we need a ‘lights out’ blackout strike online for Australian digital services. Banks and public services will never join in. So we need major players like Atlassian to ‘go dark’ (to throw the anti-encryption fear-mongering term back at the gov) for 24h a bit like Net Neutrality and other protests. The future is tech, so tech holds the power. Shut it down and make em sweat
(DIR) Post #1818614 by Mnemonic@mastodon.social
2018-12-08T00:46:16Z
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@blakehaswell Ehm *the dumb or genius kid in quantum phase* what about software encryption?
(DIR) Post #1818615 by SetecAstronomy@hackers.town
2018-12-08T00:57:19Z
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@Mnemonic @blakehaswell Distributed, utterly pointless encrypted file transfers. Documented to the detail required by the new law and whatever bureaucracy is supporting it. Flood them with data. "I just opened 10 different streams to YouTube via SSL, here's the form for each one. Oh, and I'm seeding OSS software with encrypted torrents. Here's the details for every single connection. Thousands (ideally many more) of my friends are doing the exact same thing. You want this info? Here's more of it than you'll ever know what to do with. Well sure you didn't ask for it. Yet. But here it is, Just In Case you need it."Something like that would be easier to organize than the superior alternative, and that's a internet blackout of Australia. "Sorry, we don't serve content there because we use SSL."
(DIR) Post #1818757 by Mnemonic@mastodon.social
2018-12-08T01:02:27Z
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@SetecAstronomy @blakehaswell I'll just boost that and try to comprehend when I'm sober, seems legit, but hey, anything with nipples does ATM.
(DIR) Post #1819006 by Mnemonic@mastodon.social
2018-12-08T01:12:51Z
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@SetecAstronomy @blakehaswell Oh woow, I thought you were talking to me/us, but it was a fictional conversation... man that relieves me much... and makes it all much clearer, I was thinking "wehere did I go wrong? what I never did that!". but AH HA! it was all in your head before it became all in the fediverse feed!Oh sh***zle! yeah shizzle I was gonna say, but it's fixed, I do follow you now! HA! oh, that was meant for myself...
(DIR) Post #1819074 by SetecAstronomy@hackers.town
2018-12-08T01:14:51Z
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@Mnemonic @blakehaswell Sorry for the confusion! I was carrying on a fictional conversation with the (fictional at this point) foolish governmental whatsits who are responsible for wrangling this mess now that it's a law
(DIR) Post #1819237 by Mnemonic@mastodon.social
2018-12-08T01:20:35Z
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@SetecAstronomy @blakehaswell I like law when it's clear and it's specified to context relatedness...The problem with anything ever any to do with ''''''computers'''''' makes the law all go wonky because a connection to another computer means something like a person orso to the written law and all that makes it just as hard as thi is kinda like to read in a normal sentence, only harder and in a language incomprehensible by people who can barely handle word 2007....I feel you :coolcat:
(DIR) Post #1824271 by mike@osada.macgirvin.com
2018-12-07T22:57:42Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@Blake Haswell @Bob Mottram 🔧 ☕ ✅ At almost 200 pages, the encryption bill introduces a raft of new powers, but criticism has focused largely on Schedule 1. It proposes three key powers for law enforcement: A technical assistance request (TAR): Police ask a company to "voluntarily" help, such as give technical details about the development of a new online service A technical assistance notice (TAN): A company is required to give assistance. For example, if they can decrypt a specific communication, they must or face fines A technical capability notice (TCN): The company must build a new function to help police get at a suspect's data, or face finesThe first thing one should do is read the bill and find out the precise definition of "company". Then avoid such entities like the plague.
(DIR) Post #1824272 by blakehaswell@social.coop
2018-12-08T05:32:55Z
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@mike @bob Yes, that's sensible as an individual, and I'll continue to have those discussions with people within my sphere of influence, but this law is a systemic problem—it needs to die.
(DIR) Post #1824474 by blakehaswell@social.coop
2018-12-08T05:37:10Z
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@mig5 Yes please, I would love to see that happen. Including international players like Apple.But it's very sad that companies and not people have the real power in conversations like this, though.
(DIR) Post #1824475 by alcinnz@floss.social
2018-12-08T05:46:06Z
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@blakehaswell @mig5 The good news here is that companies are incentivized to be on our side. They already face a crisis of trust, and they can't afford to take the fall for governments' bad policies.
(DIR) Post #1824778 by blakehaswell@social.coop
2018-12-08T06:15:15Z
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@alcinnz @mig5 The enemy of my enemy is my frie... No fuck that, they're still my enemy. 😋
(DIR) Post #1824811 by blakehaswell@social.coop
2018-12-08T05:27:03Z
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@tleydxdy @bob I agree free software is great, but this law needs to die.In-terms of risk-profile, yes we should absolutely assume any proprietary applications are compromised. That's true now more than ever.
(DIR) Post #1824812 by tleydxdy@pl.smuglo.li
2018-12-08T06:19:12.487048Z
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@blakehaswelloops, I'm just saying that please say "free software" instead. Sorry for the confusion. @bob
(DIR) Post #1824982 by alcinnz@floss.social
2018-12-08T06:33:36Z
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@blakehaswell @mig5 The way I see it, on this issue they're my friend. On numerous others they're my enemy.
(DIR) Post #1825104 by blakehaswell@social.coop
2018-12-08T06:40:03Z
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@alcinnz @mig5 Yeah, I'm mostly being facetious.
(DIR) Post #1825290 by mike@osada.macgirvin.com
2018-12-08T06:49:53Z
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@Blake Haswell @Bob Mottram 🔧 ☕ ✅ @Adrian Cochrane @Miguel Jacq @Olivier Forget Shorten appears to still have the ability to listen to reason and is very likely to be the next PM. That's where pressure needs to be applied.
(DIR) Post #1825567 by mig5@mamot.fr
2018-12-08T06:58:53Z
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@blakehaswell oh I definitely agree. However in this case it’s ‘people’ who are harder to convince re: merits of encryption sometimes. Meanwhile the fallout of the bill very much affects tech industry. Strategically it makes sense for people like you and I to *pressure* industry into acting in order to achieve an influential result. And that still means it’s ‘people’ like us launching that action even if its industry acting.
(DIR) Post #1825573 by mig5@mamot.fr
2018-12-08T07:06:08Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@blakehaswell I’d love a ‘gilets jaunes’ movement around this but it’s hard for ‘regular’ people to strike/demonstrate. If actual tech services go offline instead, that might have more impact from gov perspective
(DIR) Post #1840599 by dominicduffin1@toot.cafe
2018-12-08T15:12:14Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@blakehaswell @mig5 There are ways people can gain power over companies - without customers (people) there would be no company... If companies don't do a 24 hour strike on their own initiative, a 24 hour strike by customers, with emails or letters going to the CEOs explaining why, might help get the companies on side.