> "We don't have the first notion how cryptography works," said the politician-senators in a joint statement
This is dangerously naive. Technically-minded people often make the serious mistake of assuming politics follows any kind of logic. It doesn't; politics is often self-contradictory.
These people know how crypto works, at least at a high level. Many of these players knew 20 years ago in the first crypto war. They just don't care; rules that are hard to implement or require interpretation can be selectively enforced.
This is a power play against technology companies. If they want to survive, tech companies need to start banding together and fighting this in the court of public opinion. As half of those companies are involved in advertising, this shouldn't be hard.
The near future will reveal who is willing to fight for their own future and who is a collaborator.
> These people know how crypto works, at least at a high level.
I respectfully disagree.
I believe they think they know how crypto works, and that they may even have excellent advisors who know exactly how crypto works. But I believe that they cling to the notion that the underlying math can somehow be compromised with a back door (that only the government knows), and yet still remain secure.
I absolutely understand that this is a power-play, but the senators would frame it as technology companies being "uncompromising," implying that there is some sort of gray area where the math is concerned. This suggests either they are ignorant, or they're lying to gain position, or both.
Given that the FBI is claiming they can be trusted with secrets (escrow keys, privileged source, etc.) while apparently having their private networks play host to a variety of hackers, unnoticed for years--would you rather believe your leadership is lying or ignorant?
What they do know is that this would break tech companies. Tech companies with a lot of cash, but comparatively very little spending on political fundraising. Nudge nudge.
This is dangerously naive. Technically-minded people often make the serious mistake of assuming politics follows any kind of logic. It doesn't; politics is often self-contradictory.
These people know how crypto works, at least at a high level. Many of these players knew 20 years ago in the first crypto war. They just don't care; rules that are hard to implement or require interpretation can be selectively enforced.
This is a power play against technology companies. If they want to survive, tech companies need to start banding together and fighting this in the court of public opinion. As half of those companies are involved in advertising, this shouldn't be hard.
The near future will reveal who is willing to fight for their own future and who is a collaborator.