Original Washington Post article discussed here: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22297963" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22297963</a>
The same could happen with Threema. As much as I like and want to trust Threema, but the story could be repeated, even if I think, that it is not used by governments or military large-scale.<p>Essentially every closed source crypto application isn't trustworthy. Same is true for operating systems.
The free world needs to realise that no matter what systems of enormous value to the world we build, others will attempt to usurp that power for their own needs.<p>It happens with all technology. The reason is, all technology can be weaponised.<p>Some simple facts .. The institutions covered by Crypto AG's technology products, were attempting to maintain their own secrecy. They were, thus, usurped by their own technology - and the CIA merely exploited this fact.<p>This case with the CIA directly addresses the lynchpin in the military-industrial-surveillance states' armour - the ability to keep secrets.<p>From a certain perspective, one might say that .. the Vaticans .. inability to keep secrets is a blessing and a curse. This is also true of many of the other clients. Would that we had access to all the things the CIA knows, as a world people, mmm..<p>These groups weaponised their own technology, against themselves, by using it to keep secrets. It also happens to be the spooks' biggest weakness too: the light of truth melts any and all justification for these peoples existence, and it whither them.<p>Let us try a thought experiment: If the Vatican applied its vast resources to providing a "Peoples Internet" a la Starlink, instead of using its billions to hide heinous secrets, would the technology of communication have been so easily weaponised?<p>All secrets are weapons, because you cannot have a secret without technology - and all technology can be weaponised.<p>So this is a foot-bullet on the part of Crypto AG, the Vatican et al., and a big win for the CIA - because it means these institutions will now be making <i>more</i> commitment, alas not less - to the keeping of secrets.
A lot of this has been known for 25 years: <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-9088423.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-9088423.html</a>
Is the leak coming from wikileaks? I've heard Assange will soon go to trial. I was still wondering about that "dead's man switch", although I'm not sure it will activate if he get convicted.