I don't think it matters. He quickly noticed that the problem is cultural, that
>> I’d much rather think about the question of exploit sales in terms of who we welcome to our conferences, who we choose to associate with, and who we choose to exclude, than in terms of legal regulations. I think the contextual shift we’ve seen over the past few years requires that we think critically about what’s still cool and what’s not.
But the problem with/in Saudi Arabia is also cultural, or social, not technological. It doesn't really matter that they can buy exploits or intercept communications. What matters is that those in power can stay in power while doing all that.
Mao and Stalin built some of the most repressive regimes the world has seen with 1930s technology, and even then they were behind the times. Do you think those would have been rocked by secure Twitter? On the other hand, Greeks ran fairly decent democracies when the closest thing to mass communications was shouting in a place with good acoustics.
I'm not saying the west should just provide scum of the world with access to modern technology. Let's not kid ourselves though. Whether we do or not, it won't change much.
The problem here in Saudi is indifference. People take it as granted: "Of course its being intercepted" or "they know everything, don't even try." Its a decapitating indifference to the extent that people around me are mystified why I have a VPN connection 24/7 on my desktop and mobile phone; why do I even bother? Even many techies around me think I am naive to be taking all these precautions. Resistance is futile.
PS: Mobily is my carrier. Discomforting. Maybe resistance is futile after all. Sigh.
It is possible to believe both things at the same time: that dictatorships will inevitably acquire exploits, backdoors, and monitoring tools, and that it's unconscionable for companies to sell these things to dictatorships.
The story is perhaps clearer on exploit markets. The alternative to markets is publication, which burns the vulnerability by hastening its patch deployment. Dictatorships will inevitably acquire more exploits, but they are in a race against everyone in else discovering vulnerabilities.
I think there's a defensible case that in the case of Saudi Arabia, there are other parties operating in the country who are much worse for the rights of both Saudi citizens and humans elsewhere, and selling the digital equivalent of arms to the Saudi Government isn't inherently evil.
I'd sure rather deal with the current Saudi Government than with Al Qaeda. Yes, there are fairly bad elements within the government, and it is at best one of the more restrictive regimes in the world, but there are some alternatives that are worse.
That's not what I mean. Even if you somehow stop them from acquiring exploits, they will remain in power because it's not derived from subtle technological advantages.
Perhaps the way to phrase it is that the soviet surveillance apparatus was an expression of power, just as the modern technological surveillance apparatus is an expression of modern power.
I think that this stuff matters, to the extent that I'd like to be in solidarity with those everywhere who are in a tension against authority. Not selling exploits is one small way that I can do that, and writing a blog post about it is one small contribution (I can hope) to creating a culture of doing that.
It'll change plenty if we do. Oppressive regimes are taken down by conspiracies and secret communication. If they eliminate this ability to associate, with our assistance, there will never be any space for revolution, or even reform.
This logic reeks of the law of averages: "I might as well swim over Niagara Falls because I could die any day, even from crossing the street. If I die today, it was just my day to die."
Of course, I have less of a reply to "Even if I don't sell it to them, someone will." The middle class finds it very easy to rationalize behavior that will keep the consumption flowing.
I don't think it matters. He quickly noticed that the problem is cultural, that
>> I’d much rather think about the question of exploit sales in terms of who we welcome to our conferences, who we choose to associate with, and who we choose to exclude, than in terms of legal regulations. I think the contextual shift we’ve seen over the past few years requires that we think critically about what’s still cool and what’s not.
But the problem with/in Saudi Arabia is also cultural, or social, not technological. It doesn't really matter that they can buy exploits or intercept communications. What matters is that those in power can stay in power while doing all that.
Mao and Stalin built some of the most repressive regimes the world has seen with 1930s technology, and even then they were behind the times. Do you think those would have been rocked by secure Twitter? On the other hand, Greeks ran fairly decent democracies when the closest thing to mass communications was shouting in a place with good acoustics.
I'm not saying the west should just provide scum of the world with access to modern technology. Let's not kid ourselves though. Whether we do or not, it won't change much.