Secure Messaging Apps Comparison
"Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem"
When the Snowden revelations were released in June 2013, my passion for digital privacy was re-ignited. I’d always had an anti-authority streak in me, something I learnt from my father. My father taught me never to simply accept what people in power say, especially people in any government. Respect was to be earned, not simply … Read more
The “Experts” Australia, as with the entire West, is suffering from a cost of living crisis brought on by inflation. What causes inflation? As with every single profession — including digital privacy and cyber security — the so-called “experts” disagree. This is why we should question any person or organisation who cites an “expert” without … Read more
The following is my ideal anti mass surveillance policy for Australia. Some of the below polices are included in the Liberal Democrats’ Freedom Manifesto, to which I contributed. Here’s a PDF copy. Proposed: Australia’s Anti Mass Surveillance Policy. Terrorism and criminal organisations are real problems. However, the government’s response to indiscriminately spy on Australians is disproportionate … Read more
Do you think that governments should force organisations to discriminate against customers based on their innate humanity? No, me either, but that’s what is happening in the West. The EU and multiple countries have announced that vaccine passports will be/are required for citizens to physically go into organisations’ premises, such as bars, pubs, stadiums, trains, … Read more
A list of reasons why Amazon cannot be trusted to secure messages: AWS’ ties to the US government. Amazon is a well-known censor of books/documentaries with which it disagrees. Keep in mind that Amazon sells Mein Kampf and the Communist Manifesto, two books whose authors’ ideas led to the slaughter of over 100 million people … Read more
Proving that government meddling in the private sector’s cyber security practices isn’t a partisan issue, Labor’s Tim Watts, the Shadow Assistant Minister for Cyber Security, has introduced a Bill to force private companies to interact with the ACSC — the Australian Cyber Security Centre — which is part of the ASD, the Australian Signals Directorate. … Read more
According to an article, the head of the ASD, Rachel Nobel, is unhappy that she cannot force Australian companies to accept the ASD’s help when responding to cyber security attacks. Her comment was made at an inquiry into the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill, which would grant the ASD the power to defend critical infrastructure … Read more
With Australia’s eSafety Commission — a federal government statutory body — in the news lately, I though I’d tackle a topic that’s been bothering me for many months. In February, 2020, the eSafety Commission released a position statement on end-to-end encryption. As I wrote earlier, the position statement could be renamed to, “Reasons Why the … Read more
We rarely pause to reflect upon how encryption entered the public domain. Prior to the late ’70s, encryption was a domain for the military, with very little utility for the average person. Computers were expensive hobbies for cashed-up geeks, ARPANET was the Internet, and mobile phones weren’t even a dream. What I have written below … Read more
“With government legislation, it’s rare that legislation is repealed (e.g., “hate speech” laws), rare that nonsensical or failed government programmes are closed down, and rare that governments decrease in size, power, and influence. For digital privacy, this natural cadence of ever increasing government power can only mean more legislation against citizens’ digital privacy and freedom; … Read more
During the last week, Apple, Google, and AWS took steps to ensure that Parler was made inaccessible. Likewise, YouTube temporarily removed TalkRADIO’s channel because the UK radio station questioned “expert” advice on COVID-19. TalkRADIO’s content is already regulated by Ofcom, the UK’s broadcasting regulatory body, raising questions as to why YouTube believes it should censor … Read more