I deviate from the mainstream of these articles and I apologise for that but I feel that there is a cryptic link here.
Recent news that the Government is to relax the privacy laws to allow the use of information gained through the use of, for instance, private email monitoring has prompted these musings. They are obviously not listening to their security experts (or are playing a weird game).
First of all I would like to put to you that anyone who has the resources, time, and inclination CAN monitor any electronic mutterings you may make and indeed DO so now. Nothing - phone calls, mobiles, email, web access - is safe from employers, peers or indeed the Government itself. Electronic data is not secure but it is private (to a point). To attempt to justify the watering down of privacy protection based on anything at all is simply silly - hence the "fools" bit.
Sure, we can encrypt email messages if we wish. However, by doing that you might as well draw a bulls eye on your head - you will simply highlight the fact that there may be something to hide.
Of course the majority of us simply do not really care, we have nothing to hide, but I am sure that we all appreciate our privacy. Those that set out to deceive will simply find new methods - and so the game continues. As an example of the foolishness of all this I would like to give the following interesting public example:
There is a way - its called 'steganography". Its use can be traced back to pre Roman times and the electronic version is available to everyone now - it is free, it works very well and is easy to use. The program I have used works perfectly across computer platforms (types). So start Googling. An example from ancient times is the writing of a message on a tablet, covering the message with wax and again writing another message or work of art on the wax. We also see this today where valuable works of art have been unintentionally covered with another, only to be discovered some time later.
Basically it is "hiding" information in or among other information (text in a photo image for instance). The casual observer is not aware that it is even happening. Even if they suspect, the information still has to be "decoded". In itself it is not totally secure as any budding "code breaker" or computer "geek" will mange this. But imagine sending a friend a message hidden in an photo or two of your recent holiday attached to a totally innocent email message. Who would target this ?
If one wishes better security, the information can be first encrypted before hiding it in the image. Again encryption programs are available free to anyone. Of course these may also not be totally secure but there is another solution.
I put it to you that if one were to correctly use "steganography" with a method of encryption called "one time pad", you have "got the bastards beaten". Until of course they resort to a different level - that of bugs, hidden cameras and other electronic surveillance - that is a different story.
As a challenge to any interested party, within the image above, there is hidden a four word english phrase. You will know when you find it. Simply download the image from your browser and go for it.
The point of this article, apart from general interest, is to highlight an example why many of us tend to mistrust those who ought to have our interests at heart. Degrading our civil rights based on a whim seems to me to be as foolish as flying the environmental flag whilst at the same time allowing the same to be destroyed, possible forever.