[governance] NSA sabotage of Internet security standards

[Norbert Bollow]

Michael Gurstein <gurstein at gmail.com> wrote:

> While I agree that there is a significant need for CS expertise in
> the black arts of cryptography etc.etc. I'm not sure that I agree
> with the implication that these skills in themselves will somehow
> ensure freedom from/freedom within surveillance...

While just having skills does not ensure freedom... 

> Whatever response it is possible to ultimately achieve re: the
> Snowden/NSA revelations the final result needs to be one that
> satisfies/is trustworthy (is worthy for trust)

...not having people of high expertise involved who are clearly
independent of the surveillance-industrial complex is IMO pretty
clearly a guarantee of having a non-trustworthy situation.

> at the
> political/normative/popular level if we are to move away from a state
> of surveillance/surveillance state.

At the normative level, I suppose that some kind of global social
contract will have to be developed.

> To do this some type of transparent/accountable political
> superstructure needs to be in place, if nothing else than to act as a
> translator/buffer between the technical folks and the public and to
> ensure some degree of transparency/accountability of their
> (technical) activities.

Maybe the translator function can be fulfilled by blogs together with
more formal forms of journalism.

This needs to be supported by strong transparency laws.

Greetings,
Norbert

-- 
Recommendations for effective and constructive participation in IGC:
1. Respond to the content of assertions and arguments, not to the person
2. Be conservative in what you send, be liberal in what you accept

-------------- next part --------------
____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.igcaucus.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t