> I believe in charitable debate and skeptical inquiry.
I believe in the odds. And the odds are that any technology that has a high potential to significantly add to surveillance capabilities has been exploited for that purpose either by hacking it or convincing (strong-arming if needed) the technology provider to cooperate.
I don't deny that Google does a lot of great things in general, and in security research specifically. That would be denying the plain facts. But I also do not think that has any impact at all on the relationships the government builds with (or forces upon) large corporations regarding national security.
When the chips are down, the NSA and other TLAs are going to get what they want. Now that tptacek is part of a larger transnational security company, he may find that out firsthand.
What exactly was it that you thought Matasano did, that the NSA might have ever leaned on them for anything? People on HN have historically had really weird ideas of how my work intersects with privacy. Matasano is a software engineering service.
You didn't answer my question. What exactly do you think it is NSA wants firms like Matasano to do? Stop being evasive. Say something specific, so we can actually address the innuendo.
It seems much more likely that NSA would lean on your consulting practice: you build telephony and communications software. Obviously, I don't think NSA leans on companies like yours either.
I never mentioned Matadano. I specifically refered to the "larger transnational security company" that acquired Matasano. If that's not correct regarding Matasano, I'm sorry. But I'm not being evasive in any way.
I'll let you know when I scale up to where I get a glimpse into the abyss.
I worked for the "multinational" for two years after the acquisition and I'm curious about NSA's evil influence too. Tell us more, Zigurd? Seriously: just a theory about what could have been happening would be great.
RSA isn't in remotely the same space as Matasano, nor would it be "one of the largest" if it were in that space.
As I rock back and forth in my chair, silently repeat the serenity prayer, and try to remain charitable; what sort of work do you think Matasano (or NCC, Accuvant, or VerizonBusiness, my former employer) does?
Where did you read that? They're still alive and kicking.
'tptacek left it to start a new company. As far as I can tell, Matasano is quite successful and many of its employees are highly regarded hackers and engineers.
Well, he is correct that Matasano was acquired by NCC Group. But as a rank-and-file Matasanoan since before the acquisition, I can't say I've noticed a huge impact on the day-to-day.
Right, "does" - I forgot they just nested their namespace after going to NCC, sorry.
If you had to make a guess, you'd probably guess correctly, but we'll just end this thread here (don't guess). FWIW I'm not supporting Zigurd's statements, which sound crazy.
I believe in the odds. And the odds are that any technology that has a high potential to significantly add to surveillance capabilities has been exploited for that purpose either by hacking it or convincing (strong-arming if needed) the technology provider to cooperate.
I don't deny that Google does a lot of great things in general, and in security research specifically. That would be denying the plain facts. But I also do not think that has any impact at all on the relationships the government builds with (or forces upon) large corporations regarding national security.
When the chips are down, the NSA and other TLAs are going to get what they want. Now that tptacek is part of a larger transnational security company, he may find that out firsthand.