Stop Acting Like A Borg Machine: Use Encryption And Respect Your Private Life

This morning Mikko “@mikko” Hypponen put out an encrypted tweet with the message indicating that you needed a TS/SCI with Poly clearance to read it. Dan “@dakami” Kaminsky followed up with the idea of possibly creating an encrypted tweet mechanism. Now there’s an idea… Right now companies like Twitter and Facebook make money off of the content we give to them. If there was an easy way to encrypt and decrypt that same content, could their business models fall apart?

mikko: ENCRYPTED TWEET Click To Read ==dHkgT3BlcmF0aW9ucyBDZW50ZXIgPHNvY0B1cy1jZXJ0Lmdvdj6JAa4EEAECAJgF== TS/SCI with Polygraph Clearance Required. ~
dakami: @mikko I actually wonder what would happen if I released an encrypted tweet mechanism. hmmmmmmmmmmmm ~
mikko: @dakami Remember to add text compression. ~

We don’t think Twitter and Facebook have anything to worry about though. Email encryption solutions have been around for more than 15 years but we’re pretty sure the number of messages you’ve ever encrypted can probably be counted on one hand. Plus we don’t see encrypting your tweets as being that necessary except for those one-off direct messages that you would rather Twitter not see.

Of course encrypting Twitter messages is something we’ve been able to do for a while. All you need is a local or web-based app that allows you to enter text, input a key, and push an encrypt/decrypt button. This technique isn’t very convenient though as you end up copying and pasting a lot of text back and forth all over the place. In search of a solution to ease this copy/paste exercise we started passively looking for more convenient options but then Petraeus happened (“Assuming Users Are Already Compromised” and “4 Steps to Anonymous & Secured Communication“) and suddenly this research seemed a lot more relevant.
Although we covered Wickr in the past and there have been some recent entries (e.g., Silent Circle from Phil Zimmerman of PGP fame), most of these apps require users to communicate over their proprietary systems. What we were particularly looking for was an encryption add-on to use over existing communication streams like Twitter and Facebook.

Of course the big issue with any encrypted communication system is key distribution. Products like Wickr and Silent Circle handle all of this complexity for us but you have to “trust” them. Back in the day some very smart people came up with the concept of Public Key Implementation (PKI) to solve the key distribution problem and over the years many have created tools to implement it. But for whatever reason though … PKI has never really taken off.

Any new system will undoubtedly have the same key distribution problems however some good options for specific niche groups may exist. Given that the infosec community may be one of those groups, we’ve come across a few good solutions ranging from the less convenient to nicely integrated systems that we’d like to share. But before we mention them we’d like to hear from you. Do you know of any workable Twitter encryption tools? We’ve pointed out a few down below in the closing signature to get you started…

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Have any tools that you use to encrypt tweets? Let us know in the comments below. Today’s post pic is from PlexusProject.org (one of the many great Twitter encryption projects out there). Also @mikko mentioned one on Twitter recently. See ya!

In part I of this topic we introduced the concept of encrypting your tweets and mentioned the possibility that an easy-to-use Twitter encryption system could impact their revenue model. Of course this isn’t going to happen as in general people are lazy, which is the same reason why email encryption services haven’t taken off. There are some convenient solutions like Wickr and Silent Circle but they require you communicate over their proprietary systems and not an already established stream like Twitter or Facebook.

We’ve already hinted at two possible encryption/decryption tools, CryptTweet, and AnonTwi, but what else could be out there? Here is a short list of everything we and you all helped us find.

• CryptTweet: Group of Python scripts designed to encrypt direct messages (DM); uses RSA public-key crypto (more info)
  
• AnonTwi: Complete Python-based framework for not only encrypting content but also routing through TOR; distributed and open source but requires user to manage keys (more info)
• Encrypt Facebook: Chrome extension that allows you to encrypt Twitter content as well; not centralized but must choose random key share with desired parties (more info)
• Encipher.it: Bookmark-based encryption; not centralized but requires users to choose and share a random key with others; software is open source (more info)
• Priv.ly: Content stored on server and linked to with a priv.ly link; browser plugin allows users to select link to expand the message in place; servers are open source and can be implemented in a distributed manner (more info)
• Scrambls.com: Free version for automatically encrypting/decrypting content any place on the web; iOS app for use on Twitter; keys held on Scrambls server; commercial version offers corporate key servers (more info)

Encrypt Facebook, AnonTwi, and Encipher.it are a little harder to work with since you have to manage your own keys. Out of these three AnonTwi looks the most promising but for right now our recommended choice is probably Encipher.it.

Out of the remaining two, Priv.ly seems like the best solution due to its public key structure and open source servers. Unfortunately, the project is still in an alpha state and doesn’t look to be too usable at this time. They developers detailed their future plans in a  blog post in early November so we hope they have a bright 2013.
That leaves Scambls as the best option in our opinion for now. It would be nice if there was an open source key server that used a public key structure. That way the owner of any key server wouldn’t be able to access the messages assuming only the user holds the private portion of the key.

If anyone is interested in testing this service out, we’ve created a Scambls group called NovaInfosec just to see how it works. Contact us if you’d like to be added. And be sure to checkout their iPhone/iPad version for when on the go.

 Source: https://www.novainfosec.com/2013/02/07/encrypting-tweets-for-your-fun-and-not-their-profit-part-ii/

Exposed: Big Corporations Doing What They Do Best... Destroying The Lives Of Bright, Young, Talented Individuals. The Piratebay Movie And The Open Source Movement

You don’t need permission to copy and share my film. But you can’t make money off it

The documentary TPB AFK:The Pirate Bay Away from Keyboard is a film about internet culture – and inevitably about sharing information online. The nature of the problem in the documentary is the paradigm shift of the internet, where the possibility to share information is out of sync with the right to share information. By using a Creative Commons license I am making it legal for the audience to copy and share the film.

Creative Commons licenses are created to help people share culture on the internet



Creative Commons does not substitute Copyright, it is based on Copyright. Instead of saying “All Rights Reserved”, it gives creators a tool to say “Some Rights Reserved”. This allows musicians, writers or filmmakers like myself to decide how people may use their work by choosing between a few licenses. I have chosen the license Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivs which means that people can copy and distribute the film for non commercial purposes, as long as they attribute it to our production company Nonami and don’t remix it.

Source: http://watch.tpbafk.tv/

When partnering with 6 TV-networks who had never used a CC-license it was important for them to secure that competing channels weren’t allowed to air the film. The Non-Commercial clause solves that. The clause is problematic however, since it also automatically classifies many small independent blogs that use google adwords as commercial. Therefore I have added a clause that let’s me waive the Non-Commercial term to a specific group of licensees on the condition that such a waiver does not infringe the broadcasters TV-rights.


I want people to remix TPB AFK

Since we bought and included around 4 min of archive news material from the Swedish Broadcaster SVT they wouldn’t allow us to use a license that allowed remix of the film. Since we love remixing and think it’s an important part of internet culture we will upload a remix-friendly version of the film without the archive material. This 4 min shorter version will be released under an Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike license. We will also upload the music separately from the video file and throw in our font to make it easier to remix. I’m looking forward to seeing my film in new contexts that will create new meanings and spread my work to new audiences.

To share the film will benefit me as a filmmaker
I make documentaries to change peoples’ perception of the world. But also to pay rent, and occasionally eat some Ben & Jerry’s. The more people that see my work, the greater the impact of the film. By sharing the film for free I’m also spreading my name, which I believe will help me finance my future films. Furthermore I believe the film will sell better if I make it available on the many platforms people want to consume it on – even if I give it away for free as well.

The internet should be used for audience participation
In a media landscape dominated by commercial media, an open license encourages a culture of audience participation and public conversation. I don’t want a traditional passive audience that just watches the film, I want an active audience that can take the film experience in serendipitous directions. A Creative Commons license will include the audience of TPB AFK:The Pirate Bay Away from Keyboard instead of excluding it.


Simon
Director

Dear internets!
As much as I am celebrating the upcoming release of the film, it is a time of mixed emotions for me. When I started filming this project in 2008 I had no idea  the launch of the film would sync with my main characters’ prison sentences. They gave me access to their private lives but won’t be able to share the premiere with me.

Anakata is currently serving his prison sentence and Peter and Fredrik are wanted. The trial against TPB is proof that the issue around copyright has not been solved.  I hope their story will re-spark the conversation around civil rights in the digital age – beyond the so called Content industries. Let’s work together to find fair solutions to both keep the internet open while protecting everyone’s rights in the digital age.

Please join us for the world premiere on Friday 8th and share the film as much as you can! Meanwhile, I’ll be on Reddit doing on AMA  on Thursday February 7th at 20:00CET/14:00 EST to answer any questions about the film.

More soon,
Simon.

I am more than happy to pay for a service like netflix, however its not in my country. That is why i pirate, The things i pirate 99% of which i would never have payed for anyway, there for at the end of the day no money was gained or lossed by any party.

We Are Open 

Source :) Jail The Copyright And Patent Holders! Remember: Piracy Is The Best ADD :D