

Ask HN: Are there any positive effects to be expected from the NSA leaks? - bjansn

Ok HN. With all the NSA leaks we&#x27;ve seen some very negative effects. As many of you know even websites and email services closed it&#x27;s doors.<p>So I&#x27;m curious, what are the positive effects you see? What important initiatives and projects have emerged so far? Are you working on a project that returns privacy to the people? Tell HN about it.
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infocollector
To answer your questions: "What important initiatives and projects have
emerged so far? Are you working on a project that returns privacy to the
people? Tell HN about it."

We started working on a project a couple of years ago that would allow users
to run their own private servers that will talk to their trusted friends and
family and allow search and share without leaking data. Its not impossible to
spy on, but the hope is that it will not allow mass surveillance. Currently it
allows PDF ebooks and photo albums, + an interface to the file system that
users can use to store any files, and access it from anywhere. The connection
from the browser to their own servers is encrypted end to end.

Project Homepage Link: [https://register.blib.us](https://register.blib.us)

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mcintyre1994
Taking a very selfish approach, it could be argued as positive that
websites/services that sell themselves as secure but have been shown to be
fundamentally flawed in that security are shut down. Losing a false sense of
security isn't necessarily a bad thing. Also the fact this debate is even
happening is a positive thing, the government wouldn't have been in a rush to
let us know without a leak.

That said, I highly doubt anything will emerge to really combat this -
cryptography is illegal in the US if you don't provide the keys when requested
I believe?

If you're sending in plain text, or if Eve has the keys, and Eve can intercept
the message, you can't keep it secret.

