NSA revelations: the 'middle ground' everyone should be talking about

[Commentary] Two of the most egregious National Security Agency revelations might actually hold out a glimmer of hope for privacy going forward.

First, we now have evidence, albeit indirect, that the NSA might not have the cryptologic superpowers that some feared they might. In particular, they have had to resort to outright sabotage of a range of security standards and systems that give them trouble. This suggests that a more robust (and un-sabotaged) infrastructure – secured by proper cryptography and without hidden backdoors or so-called "lawful intercept" interfaces – can make mass surveillance genuinely difficult.

Which brings us to the second encouraging bit of news, which is that if you are being individually targeted, you really don't stand a chance. How can this be good news? It means that there is no good reason to give in to demands that we weaken cryptography, put backdoors in communications networks, or otherwise make the infrastructure we depend on be more "wiretap friendly". The NSA will still be able to do its job, and the sun need not set on targeted intelligence gathering.

[Blaze directs the Distributed Systems Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania]