My Response to Sam Harris on the Apple Encryption Debate

My Response to Sam Harris on the Apple Encryption Debate



[ Subscribe to the Podcast: iTunes | Android | RSS ]

[ UPDATE: Much credit to Sam for engaging in the conversation. I’m not sure how people claim he’s closed on this topic when he is clearly open to exploring it. ]

I don't agree with all of it. But this is a very good response to my remarks about encryption. https://t.co/rMl8zgtuWN@danielmiessler— Sam Harris (@SamHarrisOrg) February 28, 2016





I’ve been planning on doing a podcast episode on the Apple encryption debate for some time, but I was unsure of the format I should use.

This problem was just solved for me when I listened to Sam Harris—who is someone I respect greatly—miss the mark significantly in a recent podcast.

The thing that compelled me to respond was the fact that I don’t often disagree with Sam. His logic is usually impeccable, and we often end up with nearly identical opinions.

So it was somewhat surreal to hear him be wrong about something. Or at least disagree with me (which, of course, may not be the same thing).

Anyway, being in information security myself I felt like a response was important.

This essay takes the form of a retort to his comments, followed by my own points and then a summary.

Sam’s points

[ The points are summarized, by the way, not necessarily exact quotes. ]


* Apple built the lock, but didn’t build the key, and now they’re telling us that building the key would put us all at risk. Self-serving abdication of responsibility.
* Community in tech swayed by Snowden. Even when the government gets a court order, they think they shouldn’t give access
* Gives cases where text messages could have helped solve a murder, but the texts are unread because the iPhone is unbreakable. Imagine being a family member!
* Could someone build an impregnable room inside their own house?
* What if you could take a drug that could make your DNA unanalyzable? So you could never be linked to any crime. The only people who would benefit would be criminals!
* Apple could maintain the backdoor and it’d be fine, just like banks have your banking information. They’re trading on paranoia.


My responses

[ NOTE: This will come in the form of a podcast, which I may still record. I wrote it largely in the voice of a spoken conversation. ]

First, let’s start with where we agree.

You speak of a “Cult of Privacy”, where people are blindly saying that Snowden did nothing wrong whatsoever, that he didn’t set a dangerous precedent, that any violation of privacy in any case is always bad, etc., etc.

I absolutely agree with you that this is not an intelligent way to understand and discuss current events.

But there’s another cult on the other side, and it’s one that you’re coming dangerous close to membership in. And that’s “The Cult of Safety”. This one works like this: If there is any situation in which some amount of data could be used to help learn where a kidnapped girl is, or where a terrorist’s bomb will detonate, then it’s within the rights of a government to legally seize ...

Become a Member: https://danielmiessler.com/upgrade

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episoder(532)

UL NO. 449: China Hits US ISPs, NIST CSF 2.0, Russian Intel Attacks, Stagnant Companies...

UL NO. 449: China Hits US ISPs, NIST CSF 2.0, Russian Intel Attacks, Stagnant Companies...

Life changing books, defining your core problems, the Apple updates, and much more... ➡ Check out Vanta and get $1000 off:vanta.com/unsupervised Subscribe to the newsletter at: https://danielmiessler.com/subscribe Join the UL community at:https://danielmiessler.com/upgrade Follow on X:https://twitter.com/danielmiessler Follow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmiessler See you in the next one!Become a Member: https://danielmiessler.com/upgradeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 Sep 202454min

North Korea Strategy to “Infiltrate” Foreign Companies

North Korea Strategy to “Infiltrate” Foreign Companies

KnowBe4 accidentally hired a North Korean state actor who tried to install info-stealing malware on their devices. They caught it in time, but it shows how good North Korean hackers are at pretending to be IT staff. | Bill Toulas | MORE Subscribe to the newsletter at: https://danielmiessler.com/subscribe Join the UL community at:https://danielmiessler.com/upgrade Follow on X:https://twitter.com/danielmiessler Follow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmiessler See you in the next one!Become a Member: https://danielmiessler.com/upgradeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10 Sep 20243min

How To Find Great People to Work With - UBI & Talent Distribution

How To Find Great People to Work With - UBI & Talent Distribution

This reminds me of a very similar lesson I learned when hiring in cybersecurity over 20 years: exposing people to training and encouragement makes the stars stand out, but it doesn’t turn everyone into stars. Subscribe to the newsletter at: https://danielmiessler.com/subscribe Join the UL community at:https://danielmiessler.com/upgrade Follow on X:https://twitter.com/danielmiessler Follow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmiessler See you in the next one!Become a Member: https://danielmiessler.com/upgradeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

8 Sep 20249min

Ambition & UBI - Why People Are Working Less

Ambition & UBI - Why People Are Working Less

The idea that Universal Basic Income (UBI) reduces the need to work isn't new, but recent studies show it doesn't lead to better jobs or more education. Instead, people just work less. | by Alex Howlett | MORE Subscribe to the newsletter at: https://danielmiessler.com/subscribe Join the UL community at:https://danielmiessler.com/upgrade Follow on X:https://twitter.com/danielmiessler Follow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmiessler See you in the next one!Become a Member: https://danielmiessler.com/upgradeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

6 Sep 20247min

UL NO. 448: TSA SQLi, NYT Github, NK RPM, NVIDIA Mystery...

UL NO. 448: TSA SQLi, NYT Github, NK RPM, NVIDIA Mystery...

Becoming Attention, Weighting on OpenAI, Ozempic and Aging?, and more... ➡ Check out Vanta and get $1000 off:vanta.com/unsupervised Subscribe to the newsletter at: https://danielmiessler.com/subscribe Join the UL community at:https://danielmiessler.com/upgrade Follow on X:https://twitter.com/danielmiessler Follow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmiessler See you in the next one!Become a Member: https://danielmiessler.com/upgradeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

6 Sep 202422min

Google Current State A Waste of Money & Talent

Google Current State A Waste of Money & Talent

Google is slowly getting rid of all the best things it has. The main thing Google is growing is its graveyard. Such a colossal waste of money and talent. Their failures should be studied for centuries as an example of what happens when you don’t lead with UX-focused product management, rather than “throw shit at wall”-focused engineering. Subscribe to the newsletter at: https://danielmiessler.com/subscribe Join the UL community at:https://danielmiessler.com/upgrade Follow on X:https://twitter.com/danielmiessler Follow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmiessler See you in the next one!Become a Member: https://danielmiessler.com/upgradeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

4 Sep 20242min

How China is Winning The Energy War

How China is Winning The Energy War

China is installing record amounts of solar and wind energy, adding 10 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity every two weeks, which is like building five large nuclear power plants weekly. Subscribe to the newsletter at: https://danielmiessler.com/subscribe Join the UL community at:https://danielmiessler.com/upgrade Follow on X:https://twitter.com/danielmiessler Follow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmiessler See you in the next one!Become a Member: https://danielmiessler.com/upgradeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2 Sep 20242min

AI The Creative Workflow & The Dangers of Groupthink

AI The Creative Workflow & The Dangers of Groupthink

A new study shows that while generative AI like ChatGPT makes individual stories more creative and engaging, it also makes them more similar to each other. | by Ben Dickson | MORE Subscribe to the newsletter at: https://danielmiessler.com/subscribe Join the UL community at:https://danielmiessler.com/upgrade Follow on X:https://twitter.com/danielmiessler Follow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmiessler See you in the next one!Become a Member: https://danielmiessler.com/upgradeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

31 Aug 20245min

Populært innen Teknologi

romkapsel
rss-avskiltet
teknisk-sett
energi-og-klima
shifter
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
rss-impressions-2
nasjonal-sikkerhetsmyndighet-nsm
elektropodden
smart-forklart
rss-alt-som-gar-pa-strom
fornybaren
kunstig-intelligens-med-morten-goodwin
rss-snakk-om-sikkerhet
rss-alt-vi-kan
rss-bouvet-bobler
teknologi-og-mennesker
rss-digitaliseringspadden
i-loopen
rss-polypod