Skype and Crypto Pushed by Snowden a Ploy?

[John Young]

In connection with using "encrypted, secure connection" Skype for
Snowden's imagery at SXSW and TED, as well as encrypted comms
with journalists and event organizers, what has led these comsec
advisors to believe that all too vulnerable Skype is secure, as well
as all too vulnerable popular crypto pushed for journalists?

Is there any indication Snowden has deployed less vulnerable
protections which have not been disclosed as backing for his
encouragement to trust encryption and to allow Skype to
finger his location and leak his comms?

To be sure, many of his remarks seem to be carefully scripted
for low-brow consumption characteristic of journalism. So there
may be a secure back-channel being used with Skype and pop
crypto as diversion.

The low-brow slides, clips, short docs, redactions released by the
media point to a deception of some sort yet to be disclosed until
25 years has passed. Hyperventilating press accounts of the
releases suggest either deception, inexperience or technical
ignorance or all.

Still, that kind of misleading comsec deception would be commonplace
security measures characterisitic of NSA and wizards -- to induce the
flock to churn massive amount publicity about encrypted comms --
and Skype -- to camouflage the Tor, blacker and deeper comms,
not to say the even blacker and deeper tools not seen by Snowden
or not yet released.

More sopisticated would be to use the small amount of NSA releases
to cloak far greater distribution (a method used by WikiLeaks and
the black market as well as the spy industry). That too would closer
to what the big boys and girls do, and therefore would be exactly what
they are watching for. Including watching for ploys to hide ploys.


.