Comment by ireflect | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ireflect | Hacker News Reader

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This is great. I rewrote it in my own words and sent it to my local Canadian MP, as well as Dominic LeBlanc who is the Minister of Public Safety.

Here's my template:

I am a Canadian citizen in your riding (A1B 2C3) and multiple business owner in the technology sector.

As an expert in the field of electronics and information security, I am concerned about the ISED’s initiative to ban Flipper Zero and similar devices, announced at: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2024/02/f...

The Flipper Zero is a general-purpose tool for engineering and information security research. By banning the device, we will be doing a disservice to our country’s practitioners in these fields, while doing little to thwart car thefts.

If possession of a device like Flipper Zero is the enabler for car theft, then it leads me to believe that such cars had negligently insecure encryption from the day they were manufactured, and a recall of such cars would be more appropriate.

Very nice. I like how concisely you hit the points. And also that you can note you're a constituent, tech business owner, and tech expert.

If different people want to mix up approaches, and hit various notes, to see what resonates, a couple thoughts (as a tech nerd, not a political communicator):

* "Information security research" has different connotations for different people. No matter how professionally you conduct yourself and respect the term, and no matter how much you promote the term positively as professional... if a particular reader considers the term to be a euphemism for behavior they think should be curtailed, and they think that's the only use of FZ, that might hurt your effort. (Unless you can find a way to promote both at the same time, to those readers, without compromising on either more than you want to.)

* All the hobbyist experimenting and building things, by kids and adults alike, I consider constructionist "education", which is valued. And I suspect it doesn't hurt to say "STEM", as a keyword for the kinds of jobs and economic development this leads to. (Imagine kids figuring out how modern devices work, which today requires more than just unscrewing an appliance and finding the motor and gears. Or getting interested in the RF that backs much of our global technology infrastructure, and inspired to pursue engineering or science. Or using that knowledge to build things that help get them into universities, or that become a tech startup company.)

You may want to add that the average person's phone is many times more powerful and capable than a flipper. The dual use tools that can steal cars are so ubiquitous in society (such as a cheap laptop) that no amount of device banning will make a lick of difference.

> leads me to believe that such cars had negligently insecure encryption

While accurate, the standard may not be as rigorous as you'd like to imagine; there was a time not long ago when a wire coat hanger was enough to unlock a car.

I remember that time. We even used it once on a friend's car. However, we did not ban wire coat hangers. I'm sure the politicians would agree that would have been silly, but common sense seems to leave them when it comes to tech.

Perfect, thanks! Will send one myself tomorrow too.

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