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Alec is a technologist, writer & security consultant who has worked in host and network security for more than 30 years, with 25 of those in industry.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: aren’t you glad that we don’t (yet) live in a world where on-device client side surveillance triggers report you to the police for using words like “bomb” or “uranium” in Signal & WhatsApp chats?

2025-06-25 04:30:48

If such things did exist they would currently be swamped by people discussing global news:

Exclusive: Early US intel assessment suggests strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites, sources say

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/06/24/politics/intel-assessment-us-strikes-iran-nuclear-sites

Julian Sanchez: “If your law is good when there are good people in office, but dangerous when there are bad people in office, your law is bad”

2025-06-25 00:27:26

Who would have guessed?

Will Oremus: “Separately and notably, GLAAD — which dropped its opposition to KOSA last year after changes to the bill, easing its path to Democratic support — told me it now wants lawmakers to review the bill in light of “changes in the FTC and other government leadership”

If your law is good when there are good people in office, but dangerous when there are bad people in office, your law is bad.

Julian Sanchez (@normative.bsky.social) 2025-06-24T13:54:24.078Z

Britain: Police may grab your {phone, laptop} and legally use on-device credentials to go trawl Facebook, GMail, iCloud, Dropbox (etc) — WITHOUT WARRANT

2025-06-24 19:49:55

I can’t say that I am entirely surprised, and it’s a bit more proportionate than “Backdooring Signal” however it really should have judicial oversight.

Police to gain powers to grab online data when they seize phones and laptops | Computer Weekly


https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366626070/Police-to-gain-powers-to-grab-online-data-when-they-seize-phones-and-laptops

If the state deploys infrastructural internet services with logging & content filtering, those things are surveillance & censorship because they are done by the state

2025-06-20 15:54:09

The state has a monopoly on violence.

The state has a monopoly on censorship.

The state tries to have a monopoly on surveillance.

If the state deploys infrastructural internet services with logging and content filtering, those things are surveillance and censorship because [they are] “done by the state”.

The state has a monopoly on violence.The state has a monopoly on censorship.The state tries to have a monopoly on surveillance.If the state deploys infrastructural internet services with logging and content filtering, those things are surveillance and censorship, because "done by the state".

Alec Muffett (@alecmuffett.bsky.social) 2025-06-20T07:52:13.239Z

In reference to:

While I understand your concerns and generally don’t endorse the service in question, that privacy policy does not really sound ominous to me. It says that since once you click through the warning they need to provide you with the resolution, they have to keep your IP allowlisted for some time.

Stefano Zanero (@raistolo.bsky.social) 2025-06-20T07:29:07.937Z

From 2024: “COERCING LLMS TO DO AND REVEAL (ALMOST) ANYTHING”

2025-06-20 14:39:24

While we’re on the general topic of if you adequately lie to a computer you will always get what you want:

https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.14020

Via: https://infosec.exchange/@bontchev/111973977204255663

My first LLM-to-WordPress Spam?

2025-06-20 13:36:16

Of course it’s an inevitability even for the Blogosphere but I was amused to find this thing in my spam inbox this morning; none of the links check-out and apparently inboxgate.rest has a reputation for spam.

It smells very much like LinkedIn engagement spam.