Hostage taking
Is there something missing in this story or is it really true that the Brazilian authorities actually expected Facebook to break encryption in return for a hostage? That really takes this to a whole new level.
The Facebook executive briefly jailed in Brazil has been released. Zuck's veep for Latin America, Diego Dzodan, was locked up on March 1 for refusing to hand over WhatsApp user data to a drug investigation. An appeals court has now overturned the order that put Dzodan behind bars. Facebook has told Reuters “Diego's detention …
To be fair to Brazil: one judge who was instantly slapped down by the next Court in the chain.
Given that (some) judges still need explanations of the "popular beat combo" variety, it is at least plausible that His Excellency didn't realise that cryptography has moved on since the days of Julius Caesar and that anyone with a "VP" title is (almost by definition) incapable of doing anything requiring actual technical skills.
anyone with a "VP" title is (almost by definition) incapable of doing anything requiring actual technical skills
FIFY. You could even just end the sentence after "anything".
Sorry, hangover from again watching The Big Short and realising the muppets involved have returned to their usual modus operandi without *any* change whatsoever. I see Apple/FBI in the same context: it's just reverting to established behaviour without any examination if that is really a good idea.
Carry on.
s there something missing in this story or is it really true that the Brazilian authorities actually expected Facebook to break encryption in return for a hostage? That really takes this to a whole new level.
It was admittedly a bit amateurish for a first try, but why should only the US have access to that data and be able to blackmail its way in the world? The good man was simply trying to level the playing field a bit but it's too full of trenches and craters (to butcher this analogy).
> ... those in power would understand things like math ...
The Guardian piece linked to would seem to say that WhatsApp has simply ignored the Brazilian requests: "Investigators first contacted WhatsApp, which was bought by Facebook in 2014, about four months ago but have yet to receive a response". If so, the fault lies with WhatsApp / Facebook not the judge's understanding IT issues. Also, the detained executive seems to have gotten out on a legal technicality: "A judge ruled he was wrongly detained because he was not named personally in the legal proceedings".
message content from a WhatsApp messaging group, geolocation information, and other data.
Let's break that down.
1. Messaging group content - that is not encrypted end-to-end.
2. Geolocation information - F**book probably has it
3. Other data - not clear
The interesting part is that Facebook is choosing deliberately not to comply with this and other requests because it knows that Brazil will not risk ban it. That takes some hubris and IMHO pride goes before the fall. While Brazil state will not risk banning it, it is in the possession of all the means to ensure Facebook earns no money from the country.