02-03-2016, 11:24 PM
http://www.extremetech.com/internet/2223...-good-news
Quote:Some good news, and some bad. The good news: A new study from Harvard University claims that encryption technology doesn’t actually hurt the government’s ability to identify and track terrorists. The bad news: That’s really only because encryption is new, weak, and poorly implemented. And the really bad news? Even the pro-privacy steps that are working are more than offset by the unthinking march toward a ubiquitous Internet of Things. The researchers gave it the bracing cover-page seen above — but in reality the picture isn’t nearly as rosy as they pretend.
A few days ago, a separate high-profile study found that the Deep Web is riddled with criminal activity. That’s certainly not a shocking finding, but one that finally quantifies something law enforcement has been saying for a long time: While encryption and other anonymity technologies may have legitimate uses for journalists, activists, and others, the bulk of the user base is using the technology to avoid the attention of law enforcement. Not that it necessarily matters from a civil rights perspective, but the study found that the anonymity of the Deep Web really is most appealing to the criminal element. It’s a simple fact that technology can in principle make criminals safer, and law enforcement more difficult.