Can secure text messaging like Tigertext be read by the NSA?

Jetster · Sep 6, 2013

Nobody wants to read your e mails

Easy Rhino · Sep 7, 2013

W1zzard said:
where do you send your mail and how can you ensure the receiving end is secure? or are you sending mail around in your basement only?

even if you send your mail to your upstream mail provider using TLS, it will end up in the final receiver's inbox as cleartext via SMTP

i agree, which is why people use my email service! it's just like lavabit where if you are a lavabit user and you want to communicate with something privately you get that person to also have a lavabit account.

Ikaruga · Sep 7, 2013

Easy Rhino said:
i agree, which is why people use my email service! it's just like lavabit where if you are a lavabit user and you want to communicate with something privately you get that person to also have a lavabit account.

I think Wizzard's point was that you do not have control over the computers of other people (regardless of the service they are using, even if that's happen to be your mail service), so you can't possibly protect any data on those machines.... hell, you probably don't even have full control over your own machine when it comes to agencies like the NSA.

Easy Rhino · Sep 7, 2013

Ikaruga said:
I think Wizzard's point was that you do not have control over the computers of other people (regardless of the service they are using, even if that's happen to be your mail service), so you can't possibly protect any data on those machines.... hell, you probably don't even have full control over your own machine when it comes to agencies like the NSA.

not true. companies like lavabit that provided encrypted email were protected which is why the NSA forced them to either give up their keys or to shutdown. you can have secure encrypted communication safe from government up to the point where they can apparently force you to turn over your keys. time to abolish the NSA.

FordGT90Concept · Sep 7, 2013

I'm late to this conversation but, the best way to fool all kinds of surveillance is to speak in code. Think using the Navajo language during WWII.

Even if they intercept the message (and they probably will) they won't know WTF it means and no computer is going to figure it out.

Ikaruga · Sep 7, 2013

Easy Rhino said:
not true. companies like lavabit that provided encrypted email were protected which is why the NSA forced them to either give up their keys or to shutdown. you can have secure encrypted communication safe from government up to the point where they can apparently force you to turn over your keys. time to abolish the NSA.

No, they would just need to brute force such communications with their super secret quantum shit, which is probably far more expensive and resource/time consuming than sending out a few agents and lawyers to the company who badly threatens them with 20 years of hard security prison if they are not in the "mood" to comply.

Also don't forget :

most of the users do not have a secure environment, they mostly use Windows which is a closed source OS, and they also click on all kind of "unknown" things on a daily basis, and...
They pretty much own the Internet, so what does the server in your basement worth if it's accessed (or not) on such a controlled network?

Please understand that this whole "violation of our privacy" issue is some serious evil stuff there indeed, but there is really nothing we can do about it, except letting everybody know all the times that we do not like it at all.
We could of course also not use "their" Internet, but if we do, we must accept that we are not living in a perfect dream world, so we just have to "deal with it" like how it is now, I guess :toast:

Wrigleyvillain · Sep 7, 2013

tigger said:
the GOV in america likes to instill fear into the populace, so they can justify the more draconian security measures.

Can't really argue with that though let's not forget the UK is not far behind and London is like the most physically surveilled place on the planet.

Easy Rhino said:
i agree, which is why people use my email service! it's just like lavabit where if you are a lavabit user and you want to communicate with something privately you get that person to also have a lavabit account.

Well...you know alot more about encryption methods and practices than I do but even so you trust your systems more than I would.

Sir B. Fannybottom · Sep 7, 2013

Why are you trying to hide from the government? Are you a terrorist or something? This guy needs a freedom check. #homeofthefree

Ikaruga · Sep 7, 2013

Sir B. Fannybottom said:
Why are you trying to hide from the government? Are you a terrorist or something? This guy needs a freedom check. #homeofthefree

You are missing the point. It's not about hiding anything from the government, but about the ethical and moral basis of a healthy society. It's about right and wrong, and the "guilty until proven innocent" approach is definitely wrong in every way, even if it's needed because of a "war". It belongs to books and stories with a dark atmosphere like Orwell's 1984, and definitely not to our beautiful planet.

On the other hand, I believe that peacefully telling our opinions and talking about the subject in a civilized manner is the right way to counter such behaviours, and not by actively doing something against them (like making private mail servers in the basement and whatnot). I also don't think it's very smart to start a "fight" with the NSA on their home territory... you just make your life complicated and achieve zero. They are doing it on a purpose, because they have their orders, and nothing will stop them except new orders.

I have nothing to hide. I have a job, a family, friends, and I pay my taxes.. so they can read and store about me whatever they want or need to (i even use Gmail and Google all the time and I'm very satisfied with their service) ... but I still think it's very wrong and evil that they are spying on me

Fourstaff · Sep 7, 2013

Sir B. Fannybottom said:
Why are you trying to hide from the government? Are you a terrorist or something? This guy needs a freedom check. #homeofthefree

I am not terribly interested in letting NSA know what porn I jack off to. I certainly don't want people to know trade secrets off my email either (for example, they can theoretically tap the CFO of a big company and trade stock off the information they stole).

MT Alex · Sep 7, 2013

Because I've been exposed to Mr. Fannybottom's odd sense of humor, I'm pretty sure he was being facetious. The sad thing is many express that sentiment genuinely, as though it makes them feel like they are a part of the winning team.

McSteel · Sep 8, 2013

Yeah, I don't see how everyone could've missed that painfully obvious sarcasm...

Frick · Sep 8, 2013

McSteel said:
Yeah, I don't see how everyone could've missed that painfully obvious sarcasm...

I have encountered people on The Interwebz that really think like that. Yeah..

System Name	Delta // Alpha-HTPC
Processor	Intel i7 6700K // Intel i5 4570
Motherboard	GIGABYTE Z270X-Gaming K7 // Gigabyte H97M -D3H
Cooling	Corsair H80i V2 // Silverstone NT-06 Pro
Memory	Corsair DDR4 3000 32gb //G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB 1600
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX980ti// EVGA GTX 1050ti
Storage	Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 512, 2 Tb FireCuda// Samsung 850 Pro,
Display(s)	ASUS PB278Q 27" 1440X 2560 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series
Case	Corsair Obsidian Series 550D // Silverstone Granada GD05
Audio Device(s)	Focusrite Scarlett // HDMI to Yamaha RX V571
Power Supply	Corsair TX850M // SeaSonic G Series 550w
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Cooler Master CK550 RBG
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64bit // Windows 10 Pro 64bit with Kodi

System Name	Desktop
Processor	i5 7500 Kaby Lake
Motherboard	AsRock MicroATX Z170M Extreme4
Cooling	Stock
Memory	2x 8G Gskill Aegis DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	Nvidia GTX 970 FTW+
Storage	Samsung nVME 512
Display(s)	Dell 27" 1440p 8bit GSYNC
Case	Corsair Carbide 400C
Audio Device(s)	On Board
Power Supply	Seasonic SSR-650GD Flagship Prime Series 650W Gold
Mouse	Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum
Keyboard	Code V2B
Software	Windows 10

System Name	Desktop
Processor	i5 7500 Kaby Lake
Motherboard	AsRock MicroATX Z170M Extreme4
Cooling	Stock
Memory	2x 8G Gskill Aegis DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	Nvidia GTX 970 FTW+
Storage	Samsung nVME 512
Display(s)	Dell 27" 1440p 8bit GSYNC
Case	Corsair Carbide 400C
Audio Device(s)	On Board
Power Supply	Seasonic SSR-650GD Flagship Prime Series 650W Gold
Mouse	Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum
Keyboard	Code V2B
Software	Windows 10

System Name	BY-2015
Processor	Intel Core i7-6700K (4 x 4.00 GHz) w/ HT and Turbo on
Motherboard	MSI Z170A GAMING M7
Cooling	Scythe Kotetsu
Memory	2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-2133 8 GiB
Video Card(s)	Sapphire NITRO+ RX 590 Special Edition 8 GiB DVI + HDMI
Storage	Crucial MX300 275 GB, Seagate Exos X12 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s)	Samsung SyncMaster T240 24" LCD (1920x1200 HDMI) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW 19" LCD (1440x900 DVI)
Case	Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply	Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse	SteelSeries Sensei RAW
Keyboard	Tesoro Excalibur
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Benchmark Scores	Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.

System Name	DarkStar
Processor	i5 3570K 4.4Ghz
Motherboard	Asrock Z77 Extreme 3
Cooling	Apogee HD White/XSPC Razer blocks
Memory	8GB Samsung Green 1600
Video Card(s)	2 x GTX 670 4GB
Storage	2 x 120GB Samsung 830
Display(s)	27" QNIX
Case	Enthoo Pro
Power Supply	Seasonic Platinum 760
Mouse	Steelseries Sensei
Keyboard	Ducky Pro MX Black
Software	Windows 8.1 x64

Can secure text messaging like Tigertext be read by the NSA?

Jetster

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate

Ikaruga

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"

Ikaruga

Wrigleyvillain

PTFO or GTFO

Sir B. Fannybottom

Ikaruga

Fourstaff

Moderator

MT Alex

McSteel

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

System Name	The SwagMachine / The Sister
Processor	Core i5 3570K @5.2ghz 1.3V/ 1100T
Motherboard	ASUS P8Z77-V / ASUS M5A99X EVO
Cooling	Phanteks PH TC14PE / Corsair H40
Memory	M379B5273DH0-YK0 2X4GB + PVI316G213C1QK 2X4GB / 2x4GB Patriot 2133
Video Card(s)	PNY 780Ti /Windforce 7950
Storage	2xSamsung 840 EVO 250gb+WD10EZEX + WD30EZRX/ 1x WD1500 Black
Display(s)	AOC Q2963PM+Acer S200HL / Acer S200L+ LG 22LD350
Case	Fractal Define R4 / NZXT Trinity
Audio Device(s)	Asus Xonar DG / Asus Xonar DG
Power Supply	Seasonic 750X / ROSEWILL RG630-S12 630W R
Mouse	Razer Deathadder Chroma / Roccat Kone+
Keyboard	Razer Blackwidow 2013 Stealth / Roccat Isku
Software	Windows 8.1 Pro / Windows 7 Ultimate
Benchmark Scores	one time I scored a 3 on 3dmark 11

System Name	Orange!
Processor	3570K
Motherboard	ASRock z77 Extreme4
Cooling	Stock
Memory	2x4Gb 1600Mhz CL9 Corsair XMS3
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Nitro+ RX 570
Storage	Samsung 840 250Gb + Toshiba DT01ACA300 3Tb
Display(s)	LG 22EA53VQ
Case	NZXT Phantom 410 Black/Orange
Power Supply	Corsair CXM500w

System Name	Chaos
Processor	Intel Core i5 4590K @ 4.0 GHz
Motherboard	MSI Z97 MPower MAX AC
Cooling	Arctic Cooling Freezer i30 + MX4
Memory	2x4 GB Kingston HyperX Beast 2400 GT/s CL11
Video Card(s)	Sapphire HD7950 Vapor X, 800/1400 @ 1.075V/1.45V
Storage	256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD + 1 TB WD Green (Idle timer off) + 320 GB WD Blue
Display(s)	Dell U2515H
Case	Fractal Design Define R3
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Seasonic SS-380GB
Mouse	CM Storm Recon
Keyboard	CM Storm Quickfire Pro (MX Red)

System Name	Black MC in Tokyo
Processor	Ryzen 3 1200
Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling	AMD Wraith Stealth
Memory	2 x 8GB G-skill Aegis 3000 or somesuch
Video Card(s)	Asus GTX 760 DCU2OC 2GB
Storage	Kingston A400 240GB \| WD Blue 1TB x 2
Display(s)	BenQ GL2450HT
Case	Some old Antec
Audio Device(s)	Line6 UX1 + slightly modded Sony DR-ZX302
Power Supply	Fractal Design Effekt 400W
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Cherry MX-Board 3.0
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	I once had +100 dorfs in DF, so yeah pretty great