Paranoia (was Re: TEMPEST protection (was Rolm Computers: 1602, 1602A, 1602B, 1666, MSExx))

On Thu, 5 May 2016, Erik Baigar wrote: I don't really want to know because it'd probably be dangerous to know such things. So, I heartily agree. What I figure is that "they" (the NSA, CIA, gubment, whatever) have probably all the capabilities that were hinted at in the Snowden files, plus a few that were beyond his sight. However, it's a fairly squishy bunch of speculation at this point. The great thing is that I'm so dull nowadays, anyone who spies on me will simply be bored to death. So, that's my secret defense. My paranoia is really for the *future*: * Phones have already been used as wireless listening devices, so have "smart" televisions. I assume this will be new normal. Devices will start not only listening, but doing speech-to-text conversion and reacting to certain phrases etc.. If you can blackmail people by encrypting their data, then they will soon do it with audio clips of folks saying potentially embarrassing things. (ie.. you ring buffer the audio so if your T2S engine detects something potentially juicy, you save the preceding 2-3 minutes of audio.) * Too many devices come with cameras (phones come to mind first, but tablets etc..). These cameras supposedly have software controls but methinks those are oft easily bypassed. If one was to create an algorithm to detect a naked person (probably already patented), then next we'll get blackmailed with naked pictures because we left the phone in bathroom while taking a shower, et al. * I remember back in the day when folks would worry about tty security and how various secure applications would handle input and output buffering from the keyboard. Now, that type of thing is soooo far beneath abstraction layers galore I'd despair of _ever_ securing it. Complexity is the enemy of security. * GPS and "location based services" are already a big juicy target, but imagine what you could do with a little AI. Imagine some group like the East German Stazi with that kind of power. "Ah, vee see that you left a political rally and went to a hardware store. You were buying materials for weapons weren't you? Admit it. Why cannot you sign the papers old man? " Then there is the potential for catching cheating spouses. I'd posit this can be done (somewhat in some cases) via algorithms on your phone. Imagine what people would pay then... -Swift