Encryption Elite, Tinder Celebs, Running with the Red Bulls & Other Must-Reads

Fourteen of the world’s most elite security technologists have concluded that giving governments the means to access encrypted data would put business and civil infrastructure at risk — even if it was technically feasible — and that it would also require “an extraordinary degree of trust.”

Their paper is part of a debate among the US and British governments — who want keys so they can fight crime and terrorism — and tech companies like Apple, Microsoft and Google — whose customers are entitled to privacy and security in a world where business is increasingly conducted in the cloud.

The paper was timed to coincide with the congressional testimony Wednesday of FBI Director James B. Comey Jr. and Deputy Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, who are expected to argue that not being able to access systems on demand gives potential lawbreakers an insurmountable advantage.

But the argument is difficult to make in the post-Edward Snowden era, with a public less sympathetic to “just trust us” arguments.  

The new paper will be hard to ignore given that it is the first in-depth, technical analysis of government proposals by leading cryptographers and security thinkers including Whitfield Diffie, a pioneer of public key cryptography, and Ronald L. Rivest, the “R” in the widely used RSA public cryptography algorithm. In the report, the group said any effort to give the government “exceptional access” to encrypted communications is technically unfeasible and would leave confidential data and critical infrastructure like banks and the power grid at risk.

The issue is complex, but amounts to this: If there is any hole, someone who shouldn’t will find it. And if that person is determined to wreak havoc, havoc it will be.

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Showing up isn't 80% of success. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had little more than a big smile to offer eurozone counterparts as he attended crisis talks in Brussels — putting it as lightly as the AP’s Mike Corder and Raf Casert — “to save his country from financial ruin.”

Evidently Tsipras has a plan in his other jacket; his government said he would present it formally Wednesday. But there was some kind of verbal preview which "fell far short" of demands that Greece commit policy overhauls and budget cuts in return for a third lifeline.

Meanwhile, Greek banks are running out of cash, and will remain closed until Thursday (so far).

#Chart

#Quote #Smackdown

"For the Greek government it's every time 'manana.'"

— Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite

"Is it really that we don't have proposals or is it that they don't like our proposals?"

— An anonymous Greek government official

The ugly, messy, borderline comprehensible dispute between ADP and Zenefits has escalated. In response to a defamation suit bought by ADP, Zenefits has filed a motion which — not to get too technical — amounts to: "Shut up."

The motion, reports our own Caroline Fairchild, invokes a California statute called “anti-SLAPP” and asserts that ADP's suit is intended "to throw expensive litigation at the growing startup and silence criticism." ADP says it has tried to play nice, but Zenefits just won't.

"ADP has a long history of partnering with third parties, including those who could be considered ‘competitors,’" ADP said in a statement. "The notion that Zenefits was blocked to stifle such competition is simply wrong." 

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Here’s a merger that’s probably never occurred to you: GoPro and … Red Bull? TechCrunch’s Romain Dillet got to thinking (probably after watching too many GoPro videos while hopped up on Red Bull) that they should join forces and become a full-on media company.

“Red Bull and GoPro already have big in-house video teams and rely a lot on their short extreme sports videos to increase brand awareness — they probably share the same demographic target as well."

Part of Dillet’s argument incorporates the book against GoPro: It’s in a commodity business that will be disrupted. But his analog inspiration for a major pivot is inspired: Pixar.

“The animation studio designed computers in the 1980s, but then flipped their entire business around animation shorts," Dillett argues. "Now, everybody knows Pixar for its critically acclaimed feature films.

"Your turn, GoPro and Red Bull.”

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This changes EVERYTHING! Evidently, celebrities are on Tinder, the hook-up dating service. Obviously, people posing as celebrities are on Tinder. What’s a guy or gal to do?! Tinder to the rescue — with Verified Profiles, so you know that when Hillary Duff swipes right it's that Hillary Duff, not just any DUFF.

"Now when notable public figures, celebrities and athletes appear in your recommendations, you’ll know it’s for real," Tinder says on its blog. Next question, on behalf of lawyers and PR advisors everywhere: Why are notable public figures, celebrities and athletes on Tinder?

#Stat

2,960

The number of angels who participated in a financing round last year. That's more than triple from 2010.

Excellent ... (news for Boomers) Harry Shearer has agreed to return for the 27th and 28th seasons of The Simpsons, along with all the principal voice actors. Shearer, the voice of (among others) billionaire Montgomery Burns and his sycophantic sidekick Waylon Smither was a holdout — he announced his departure in May in a dispute about moonlighting.

Showrunner Al Jean said it was all a big misunderstanding and took the blame. Also easing his return is the $300,000 Shearer and the other main cast members will earn per episode. The Simpsons has aired 574 episodes since December 17, 1989 and is generally recognized as having sparked a Renaissance in animation for grown-ups. You’re welcome, Adult Swim.

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Missed our earlier update? Then check out Pao Steps Up, Sandberg Steps In, Tsakalatos Steps Out & Other Must-Reads

Cover Art: Revelers attempt to avoid a fighting calf inside Pamplona bullring during the second day of the San Fermin Running of the Bulls festival on July 7, 2015 in Pamplona, Spain. (David Ramos/Getty Images)