Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/11/18/tech-companies-you-have-63-da.html
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He did, however, say that using strong encryption for personal communication “may itself be a red flag,” suggesting that good security practices could invite government scrutiny under his watch.
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I want tech companies to read this and strongly consider taking these very steps. However, I don’t see that any of them will, and only because so much shit is free on the internet because it is ostensibly paid for by the gathering and selling of user data. Companies will argue away the behavioral analysis issue because “we’ve always been trying to find out who our customer is and how and when they make decisions” etc etc.
And because they won’t be stopping the collection of behavioral analysis data, they’re not likely to be deleting their logs any time soon, either.
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He did, however, say that using strong encryption for personal communication “may itself be a red flag,” suggesting that good security practices could invite government scrutiny under his watch.
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If strong encryption is everywhere, all flags will be the same shade of red.
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Right! Encrypt all communications all the time everywhere. If a site doesn’t offer HTTPS browsing, use another site.
When everyone is encrypting, the three letter agencies cannot use encryption as a proxy for criminal behavior and a pretext to do harm. The costs and difficulties involved in decryption will make it financially necessary to focus on actual criminals rather than simply trawling for dissenters based on who is encrypting and who is not.
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I’d like to see the corporations doing this, but I just don’t. The best we can hope for is pseudonymous access (already in place on major e-mail providers) and encrypting data in transit. There’s not much we can do about the tech corporations (and the ISPs and carriers) keeping logs and metadata, but here are a couple of recommendations for how we can protect ourselves as individuals and organisations:
How to Encrypt your Entire Life in Less than an hour
All true, but this bunch of scumbags will be using the administration to settle scores, so they’ll also be keeping an eye on the metadata and perhaps cleartext communications of non-criminals who are on their enemies lists or are business competitors.
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The investigatory powers bill just passed through the House of Lords so herr drumpf’s government should be in good company. Fucking disgusting. Use a good vpn, use tor, the state is now the enemy of the people. 
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Would these five changes in some way have been less desirable if Clinton had won??
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No, but they’re definitely more desirable since her opponent won.
Perhaps you haven’t been following BoingBoing long enough to know that @doctorow’s concern about these kinds of issues goes back 20 years. The call to action is just more urgent given that a right-wing populist government is about to take power in Washington.
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For bonus points, don’t restrict access to logged-in users.
Welcome to September 1993, part 2.
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Cue bitching from some BBS members about Cory and histrionics in 3…2…1…
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It’s the left’s version of “Clinton’s going to take your guns”.
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Well, except we have proof that the government is hoovering up our data and using it. There is no proof that anyone is coming for anyone’s guns outside of paranoid compound fueled fantasies.
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How did BB get a photo of my office?
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Tech Companies: “Meh.”
Throws missive into circular file
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I hate to break this to you, Cory, but what makes you think the people making the decisions at major tech companies didn’t largely support Trump? They’re the sort of people his economic proposals (such as they were) were aimed squarely at.
Because most tech companies are actually staffed by rather liberal people who live in cities.
I hate to break this to you… (no, I don’t)
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I suppose you’re denigrating paranoid compound fueled fantasies? So not fair!
From the Tech Companies’ files, of course.
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