Whistleblower says 'stay away from Dropbox, Facebook and Google'

oke efagene

November 26, 2014 1:26 PM

Snowden made this statement during a remote interview as part of the New York Festival, where he was asked a series of question on what Internet users can do to protect their privacy.

An American computer professional, Edward Snowden, has offered some tips to people who care about their online privacy, stating that they should particularly avoid Internet services like Dropbox, Facebook and Google.

Snowden made this statement on October 11, 2014, during a remote interview as part of the New York Festival, where he was asked a series of question on what Internet users can do to protect their privacy.

In his first response, Snowden called for a reform of government policies. In his opinion, when people say they "don't have anything to hide," the implication is that "you're inverting the model of responsibilty for how rights work":

"When you say, 'I have nothing to hide,' you're saying, 'I don't care about this right.' You're saying, 'I don't have this right, because I've got to the point where I have to justify it.' The way rights work is, the government has to justify its intrusion into your rights."

According to him, on an individual level, people should seek out encrypted tools and stop using services that are "hostile to privacy," and they should "get rid of Dropbox," because it doesn't support encryption, and rather consider alternatives like SpiderOak.

However, in a June blog post related to Snowden, Dropbox actually says, "All files sent and retrieved from Dropbox are encrypted while traveling between you and our servers," as well as when they're "at rest on our servers," and it points to other security measures that the company is taking. The difference between Dropbox and SpiderOak, as explained on WSJ blog, is that SpiderOak encrypts the data while it's on your computer, as opposed to only encrypting it "in transit" and on the company's servers.

During the remote interview, Snowden said: "We're talking about encryption. We're talking about dropping programs that are hostile to privacy. For example, Dropbox? Get rid of Dropbox, it doesn't support encryption, it doesn't protect your private files. And use competitors like SpiderOak, that do the same exact service but they protect the content of what you're sharing."

He also suggested that while Facebook and Google have improved their security, they remain "dangerous services" that people should avoid. (Ironically, anyone watching the interview via Google Hangout or YouTube saw a Google logo above Snowden's face as he said this.)

His final piece of advice on the matter is this: Don't send unencrypted text messages, but instead use services like RedPhone and Silent Circle.

Below is a full video of the interview. The discussion of privacy and consumer Internet services (which consisted of two questions in a row) begins at around 58:30.

oke efagene