
Bruce Schneier joins EFF Board of Directors - teawithcarl
https://eff.org/r.b8Wf
======
randomdrake
Bruce Schneier is an incredible asset to the technology community. I think
it's awesome that he's going to be on the board of the EFF.

Receiving an EFF Pioneer Award in 2007, his introduction alone describes why
he is a perfect candidate. The audio for the speech is, thankfully, available
in the Internet archive[1]. The introduction given by one of the EFF
technologists is a wonderful description of how important Bruce Schneier's
contributions to technology and security really are, outside of his incredible
cryptographic skills.

"Skilled in his exposition of ideas about security."

Bruce's ability to explain, in clear terms, what is or isn't wrong about
particular systems is amazing. Whenever there's some sort of technological
thing going on in the world, security related, Bruce's blog[2] is often one of
the first place I go to.

"Made people aware of the context in which security happens. The context in
which security measures exist … the political context, the economic context,
the psychological context, the social context in which security really happens
or often doesn't happen."

This is an incredibly valuable and necessary outlook on security in this day
and age. The world needs more people who are aware of security, not as just
some thing that you do, but really as a mindset and thing that you really have
to wrap your head around.

"Worked really hard to demystify security. To help people think clearly about
what really works and doesn't work."

"Emphasis and insistence that security is not an objective thing but is
relative to the observer. That it's always from someone's perspective."

"You don't just have security as this thing that's out there, but security has
a kind of political dimension, that you need to have a prior notion of what
kinds of actions are appropriate and what kinds of actions are warranted."

I couldn't think of a more appropriate and equipped individual to help the EFF
at this time in our history.

[1] -
[http://archive.org/details/Bruce_Schneier_EFF_Pioneer_Awards...](http://archive.org/details/Bruce_Schneier_EFF_Pioneer_Awards_2007)

[2] - [http://www.schneier.com](http://www.schneier.com)

------
pvnick
>Author and Critic Deepens EFF's Security Expertise as NSA Scandal Intensifies

Great news - I've read a couple of really interesting articles that Schneier's
put out in recent weeks - but is the scandal actually intensifying? I'm afraid
somebody is going to need to fill me in on the current state of the reaction
from the public/media at large; I tend to lock myself in a filter bubble of
news relevant to my interests.

~~~
DanBC
I get the impression that the scandal is focused on Snowden (and his
whereabouts) rather than on mass collection of data. But this is just my
opinion.

~~~
tokenizer
I believe you're right. Almost every article with NSA in the headline that
I've seen also has Snowden, or Ecuador, or Russia.

So basically, your point about the focus being drawn away from the NSA itself
seems correct to me.

~~~
dllthomas
I think Snowden and the NSA spying he brought to light are independent and
very important issues, and we should try hard not to lose sight of either. The
latter for reasons that I assume are obvious; the former because, as I've said
elsewhere
([https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5953059](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5953059))
whistleblowers are a very important check against abuses, and we need to
protect them.

~~~
dllthomas
Let's get together and turn some talk into action:
[http://www.meetup.com/Hack-Government-Bay-Area](http://www.meetup.com/Hack-
Government-Bay-Area)

------
jdp23
He's in good company:

 _In addition to Schneier, EFF 's Board of Directors includes John Perry
Barlow, Brian Behlendorf, John Buckman, Lorrie Cranor, David Farber, John
Gilmore, Brewster Kahle, Pam Samuelson, Brad Templeton, and Jonathan
Zittrain._

Barlow and Gilmore are the EFF founders, along with Mitch Kapor who hasn't
been that active for quite a while.

~~~
snowwrestler
The juxtaposition of Zittrain and Schneier caught my eye because I once saw
them on opposite sides of a cybersecurity debate. Zittrain sat with former NSA
head Mike McConnell and argued that the threat of cyberwar had not been
exaggerated. Schneier and another privacy expert argued that it had been
exaggerated.

The subtext of the argument was the degree to which the national security
apparatus should take the lead on U.S. cybersecurity, vs. domestic agencies
like DHS or law enforcement like the FBI. Schneier argued that the "threat" of
cyberwar was being pumped up by the defense agencies and industries to help
justify greater power and contracts.

------
zdw
I'd totally vote for a Lessig/Schneier ticket in 2016. One would clean up the
political disaster, the other the "security" nightmare...

~~~
mikegioia
If there was even the possibility that Lessig would run, I would quit my job,
dump my savings, and find SOME way to be a part of that.

------
lifeisstillgood
This feels like a move towards the mainstream for EFF.

I have a sneaking suspicion this is the beginning of a gradual recognition of
orgnaisations like EFF in having a voice in regular politics. Not a big one
perhaps, but being at the table.

~~~
dfc
I have a lot of respect for Bruce, but I am not sure what this has to do with
a "move towards the mainstream." This seems like a move "to ensure that the
board has competent security guidance." As far as "regular politics" goes, I
hope they stay away from regular politics. I want the EFF solely involved in
tech policy issues. Does Schneier have a big political background?

~~~
jlgreco
Bruce fairly regularly gets articles published in mainstream news sources. I'd
say he brings more of that to the table than the EFF has already.

~~~
dfc
Professor Zittrain has also published editorials in major news sources. The
NYT search page returns 7 more resources for Bruce. (397/390).

~~~
jlgreco
Ah, so he does. I wasn't aware.

~~~
dfc
As far as tech policy goes it is hard to find a job with more mainstream
visibility than "law professor at Harvard with a focus on tech policy."

~~~
dllthomas
It's not hard: CEO of Google.

Having said that, you're right in that there are not very _many_ such jobs.

------
Zikes
Schneier sounds like a perfect fit for an organization like the EFF. I hope
that with his help they will be able to do even more good.

------
mark_l_watson
That is good news, and reminded me to go to eff.org and invest some money in
our future via a donation.

I try to read everything that Bruce Schneier writes on security, politics, and
policy.

------
hobs
Bruce is awesome and has been writing amazing stuff for years! He contributed
to one of my favorite fictional books, the cryptonomicon with
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solitaire_%28cipher%29](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solitaire_%28cipher%29)

Also whenever he comes up you have to visit:
[http://www.schneierfacts.com/facts/top](http://www.schneierfacts.com/facts/top)

------
lsiebert
This can only be good news.

------
tome
Wow, a great boon for the EFF. Congratulations!

------
pyrocat
/sc2 Hell, it's about time

------
dllthomas
Outstanding!

