Posts by Jim E 12 publicly visible posts • joined 2 Nov 2014
I think Mrs. Clinton is referring to the fact that it has been pointed out that real-world end-to-end encryption systems, like the Apple one, already have a front door by virtue of their design. Let me explain.
Each device (phone, tablet, PC, etc) generates a public/private key pair. The private key must never leave the device, but the public key is stored up in the cloud.
Alice sends Bob a message. Her messaging client grabs Bob's public key, encrypts the message with it, and sends it. It can only be decrypted by Bob's device. OK so far.
Now the real world intrudes. Bob has multiple devices. There is no really secure way for them to share a private key, so each device generates it's own key pair. Alice's software does not know which device Bob will use to read the message, so it must encrypt multiple copies of the message payload using Bob's several public keys. This multiple-key capability is the front door.
All that Apple (or anyone else running PKI for end-to-end encryption) has to do is quietly add an NSA-generated public key to Bob's list. The NSA can now read every message that Bob receives. They can do this to selected users or to everyone.
Of course, we can circumvent this by manually using PGP and exchanging public keys by email, but that is quite beyond the vast majority of users, who find the concepts of public key encryption hard to grasp. The automated version is what actually gets used.
Slight problem with the above analysis. Oxygen boils off the whole time and is vented. The only period when it isn't is then they close the vents for a short time a few minutes prior to launch. This pressurises the tank to give the rocket more rigidity. Like the tubes in an inflatable dinghy. But then the vents open again to prevent the pressure building up too much. These things are a bit more complex than a pressure-cooker safety valve. They have remote control, they have to work OK with ice in them, and they have to work in a supersonic airflow. The rocket is being warmed by the sun the whole time, which will cause some boil off. If they close for some reason, then Kablooey. Hopefully the guy who said it was all normal did not have all the information. I hope there were people at SpaceX staring at their screens and going "Ohhhh Crap" for a few seconds before it went bang. That would be good, because this is going to be a manned rocket soon. You want some warning of this type of event when there are people riding it, so that the escape system can do it's thing.
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