Schneier on Security

BrowserPrivacy • December 22, 2013 9:57 AM

Thank you for doing the right thing, Bruce. Your decision to leave BT goes a long way toward mitigating the appearance of potential conflicts of interest, which can be just as problematic for public trust as actual conflicts of interest. Especially after the news about RSA giving up essentially its own customers to NSA, I’m glad you’ve decided to distance yourself from a company that may or may not have done something similar.

I’m excited because you’re one of the handful of people bright enough and bold enough to take on some of the biggest challenges of our time, like surveillance as a business model or how to dis-entangle problematic public-private partnerships. I can’t resist the temptation to mention that I hope you’ll consider helping The Tor Project fundraise and/or stay ahead of cryptanalytic attacks. I know it may sound boring or provincial, but a growing number of users believe Tor receives too much funding that comes either directly or indirectly from US Department of Defense sources. Helping The Tor Project diversify its funding sources seems like a great place to start helping to shore up public trust in basic privacy-enabling cryptography tools that help raise the cost of dragnet surveillance.

This year more than perhaps any other, you’ve inspired others–at significant personal and professional risk–to make the world safer and more free for everyone. And courage is contagious.