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Comment on What It's Like When the FBI Asks You to Backdoor Your Softwareparent

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How do you compile your code? (Thompson reflections on trusting trust)

And beyond source-code:

How do you shield your equipment? (tempest, also active attack)

How do you guard your equipment? (evil maid)

Real life is the triumph of convenience over security :(

Convenience is exactly what I use in my real life. My texting security is whatever Apple implements in iMessage. I'd be a lot more paranoid if I were a "smuggler" or "revolutionary".

There's also the wrench cryptanalysis discussed in xkcd.com/538. For most people the mouseover text nails it:

  Actual actual reality: nobody cares about his secrets.

The fact that you can't have complete security is not an argument for abdicating the effort, nor a valid criticism of anything that moves in the right direction. At least you can get to a better position in terms of (a) lower probability of compromise and (b) imposing more time and expense on the adversary.

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