The press has lost the plot over the Snowden revelations. The fact is that the net is finished as a global network, and that US firms’ cloud services cannot be trusted, writes John Naughton
Source: Edward Snowden’s not the story. The fate of the internet is | Technology | The Guardian
If businesses or governments think they might be spied on, they will have less reason to trust the cloud, and it will be cloud providers who ultimately miss out. Why would you pay someone else to hold your commercial or other secrets, if you suspect or know they are being shared against your wishes? Front or back door – it doesn’t matter – any smart person doesn’t want the information shared at all. Customers will act rationally and providers will miss out on a great opportunity.
— Neelie Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission
The real threat from terrorism is not the harm it inflicts directly but the over-reaction it provokes. We saw that with the invasion of Iraq. We’re seeing it with security-state overreach.
Source: Why NSA Surveillance Will Be More Damaging Than You Think | The Atlantic