Edward Snowden’s New Job: Protecting Reporters from Spies | Hacker News Reader

Edward Snowden’s New Job: Protecting Reporters from Spies

wired.com

33 pointsfergeson6 comments

Interesting read. I'm glad this work is being done, but I remain skeptical about its efficacy... particularly the "plug and play" options. I think that hiding the details, and making things turn-key, will only make it easier for the NSA and others to subvert them.

Perhaps the news organizations need an in-house crypto-ops paid position to give them direct access to expert knowledge. Rely on that expertise rather than try to automate and abstract something that is inherently complex.

This is true, however without a turnkey solution it's impossible for most people whose interest is not in machines to lock the door. Putting your eggs in one basket is a totally reasonable strategy if you watch that basket very carefully. I think people will. Your concern is still valid and reasonable.

I was sort of thinking along the lines of how companies have IT departments (or used to). Domain experts.

Unless he moved, his job protecting journalists is quite ironic given the stance of those protecting him:

http://mashable.com/2014/07/23/putin-signs-low-that-could-bl...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_...

Still good he's trying to do something about it. I'd just review any tech or methods extra carefully for anything coerced in by the state.

Without a valid passport how can he be anywhere else?

Blame the US for his current location (they revoked his passport as he tried to catch his connecting flight to Ecuador), not Russia and certainly not Snowden himself.

He's in a weird predicament because as you say he is guest of a country that has an appalling track record in this sphere.

What else is he to do though? Russia is only granting him asylum to stick a finger in the eye of the US and that could change at any time now that Trump is in power. His two choices are either stay quiet on the debate he started, or speak up in spite of his predicament.

There's no blame here. There's the fact that he's in a subversive, police state... in the open to them... producing solutions to resist subversive, police states. Peer review them carefully. He should also tread carefully on that.

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