[Gllug] news mirror sites

[Mike Brodbelt]

On Wed, 2004-06-30 at 15:20, mute8 wrote:

> Steganography is too weak.

Practical arguments and implementation details aside for a moment, I've
seen no evidence that steganography would not be adequte for the task,
and a blanket assertion like that about the technology as whole doesn't
really hold water without some backup.

> As it stands we are talking about a security protocol that, if breached,  
> could mean the difference between life and death for the receiver.

Historically, far weaker protocols have been used for exactly this. At
the end of the day, it is the choice of the user as to whether a
specific arrangement is "secure enough" to warrant taking the risk. All
we could do is offer advice and estimate risk.

> I really don't think any of us are capable of taking on that  
> responsibility. Let's face it - we are not the people to be implementing a  
> solution to China's access problems. This needs a concerted effort in  
> diplomatic circles, and there is a reason that that effort has not yet  
> been made.

That really isn't a good argument. Advocating inaction because you
believe there are people better placed than you who are doing nothing
simply becomes something of a self fulfilling prophecy. When everyone
thinks like that, no-one ever does anything. I'm not necessarily saying
that members of GLLUG ought to assist here, but I do believe that your
reasoning as to why they should not is fallacious.

> It really helps if you don't upset more than one government at a time.

Surely upsetting governments comes down to what priciples people are
prepared to stand up for? Would you advocate not worrying about freedom
of speech if you were up against more than one government? Come to think
of it, given the situation on China, isn't that exactly what you are
advocating?

> Still - if anyone has any half-sane ideas, I'm open to suggestions.

There are a number of technical solutions, some of which have already
been put forward. They are quite possibly "good enough" to prevent
someone seeing what's being done. However, in a police state, it isn't
necessary to prove guilt - suspicion is ample grounds for execution or
permanent incarceration. Whether the end users want to run that risk or
not is another matter.

Mike.

-- 
Gllug mailing list  -  Gllug at gllug.org.uk
http://lists.gllug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/gllug