FBI’s backdoor shopping ★ 9.10.11

While German LEAs apparently try to create backholes themselves to wiretap computers, the FBI knocks the doors in Silicon Valley for some backdoors. Evgeny Morozov in his review of Susan Landau’s “Surveillance or Security” book:

To catch up with the new technologies of malfeasance, FBI director Robert Mueller traveled to Silicon Valley last November to persuade technology companies to build “backdoors” into their products.

From a foreign-policy perspective, the Western security-by-surveillance approach is rather shortsighted, Morozov argues:

Foreign-policy interests—a desire not to empower enemies and autocratic regimes—should shape this agenda as well. But most policymakers in Washington don’t incorporate global concerns into highly technical domestic debates about seemingly obscure issues of surveillance law.

Morozov was featured in a pretty interesting, visually innovative TV documentary in late September by Dutch channel vpro.nl. Includes some good rants.