You seem to be attempting to isolate applications that phone home from software with a back door. One does not discount the other, and one is not necessarily better or worse than the other. We happen to see more legitimate applications phoning home (CAD/CAE software for example) but Botnet hosts do also.
Phoning home is something that can be detected, so the high end software won't.
Really, Hacking Team was just doing things the way a very small segment of society which currently holds most financial capital thinks everybody should be operating.
FTFY - SOPA, TPP, etc.. are not products of the Software industry. I am pretty sure I agree with your point under the surface, but the generalization is plain wrong.
I'm curious what Hacking Team thought was worth the risk of watermarking their products to customer installations and having these alleged backdoors to backdoors. Seems like a lot of risk for no payoff unless they hoped one day to "flip the script" and hack their customer base...
I can easily see a few reasons for them to watermark their customer's installations of their software. First is obviously leverage against prosecution. Second would be to determine who did what with their software. Their own back door would allow them to kill software on a non-paying customer (or one that caused litigation). The last is an increase in revenue. There are some interesting ways to encrypt your binaries which the watermarks could have done. Sudan's software would not be able to run Nigeria's software for example, so this would ensure that everyone pays for everything individually.
Lots of reasons for an immoral shitbag company to do immoral shitbag things to everyone, not just "some" people.
I would imagine the fact that Tsipras has had numerous face to face and phone meetings with Putin in both Greece and Russia in the last 6 months alone:
So has Barack Obama, so has Angelina Merkel, John Kerry, David Cameron, etc, etc, etc... That is what heads of National Departments and Nations do because it's in their job description. Your reasoning is completely irrational.
Something for nothing? Heck no, the EU creditors were not giving loans from the goodness of their hearts.
Yes, the Greek Government is mostly at fault for this.. but so are the Greek people who keep voting in people making false promises. You know, the guys who claim that you can have all of these Government programs for "free".
I really have no idea why you tried the ole cold war propaganda routine, but it does not make any sense here at all.
Prior to the Internet, and the corporate and government push to get everyone on line, spying on people was expensive in both human and physical resources. The "good ole days" was really not that long ago, because until very recently nobody could afford to spy on everyone in a country.
When a Government must lie to the populace it is supposed to represent, and must operate in extreme secrecy, it is no longer a Republic.
Just because we are not seeing Government death squads you believe we are still being ruled by the people? If you really believe that, I'd recommend a lobotomy. The West has been gone for at last three decades, only existing as a fantasy for the masses who have enough "entertainment" to maintain the fantasy.
Sadly, there will still be a push to outlaw encryption just like there is a push to outlaw guns. Everyone should know the consequences of giving up everything to the Government. Cretins have always been attracted to public offices. Rights for you are expendable as long as their rights are covered. Every government in history has had to be overthrown because of the same damn problems. Too bad we never learn.
Can the politicians! Order the code red! Don your helmets! E... Dang it, I'm out of ideas for my cypher....
Do you know how many times I thought about adding a back channel to a piece of software I wrote because it's easier than training users? Do you care to guess at how many times I have actually done this?
Lets ask that same question about smaller software companies. You won't find any that survive for long after people find out they have these kinds of security practices.
It's hard to say why this happens so frequently and massively with large companies/corporations. I'm sure it's partly Government pressure, probably pressure from other companies/corporations, and partly an ignorant executive demanding this gets done. I'm sure the latter can claim the first two are the problem. The latter however, should result in termination of the execs responsible. That last part does not happen, which makes me wonder how big the first two really are.
I have yet to see anyone claim he gets a pass because of his work. What I have seen are skeptics that a rape occurred given the facts that have been released by Swedish Officials and knowing the surrounding information. Surrounding information on both the alleged victims and the US wanting him for espionage to be clear, because you should really understand both.
From day one of Sweden wanting to "question" him there was discussion of deportation to the US. Given that the UK has no problem arresting journalists they don't like and sharing with the US who's to say he would have ever made it back to Sweden? The discussion of Sweden deporting him gained more publicity but is the most unlikely scenario.
FORTRAN is not a flower but a weed -- it is hardy, occasionally blooms, and grows in every computer. -- A.J. Perlis
