2009-11-06

In Microsoft Windows thwarts police efforts to cut child porn author Anna Caldwell discusses Microsoft Windows 7's filesystem encryption capabilities. The teaser for the article reads:

THE much lauded latest Microsoft Windows operating system could make it harder for police to prosecute child pornography suspects, experts warn.

The experts to whom she refers in the teaser, who warn us about the evils of MS Windows 7 and how it can help child pornographers escape prosecution, include:

Adrian McCullagh, a Queensland University of Technology "cyber-law expert"

Hetty Johnson, a "child safety advocate"

. . .

There are only two such experts. One of them is apparently an expert in "child safety" advocacy, which essentially translates as expertise in saying "Think of the children!" at the right volume, in the right places, and at the right times, to induce panic. Note that she is not identified as an expert in child safety in the sense of any rigorous social, psychological, biological, or technological discipline; she is an expert in advocacy and, apparently, nothing else relevant.

A bit of searching on Google will tell you what other areas of expertise line Ms. Johnson's CV. For instance, Machine Gun Keyboard reports in Censorship, self-censorship, and the chilling effect [NSFW photograph in article] that Hetty Johnson is going after photographic artist Bill Henson, trying to get his photographic art essentially banned throughout Australia. Among her tactics were strident support for both Henson and the Ros Oxley gallery that displayed his work being charged with child pornography crimes, despite the fact that Section 91H of the New South Wales Crimes Act is explicit in its definition of child pornography such that Henson's work is exempt.

If Henson were to be found in violation of the law in this case, Anne Gedde's Sleeping Angels images would be just as susceptible to criminal charges — if not more so. Think about that for a moment. Once you have finished thinking about that, think about what this says about her actual expertise in legal and technical matters relating to criminal prosecution.

You have probably already figured out that she has zero expertise in such matters. "Think of the children!" advocacy is one of those rare industries where absolutely zero understanding of the subject matter is no barrier to being called an "expert".

Dr. Adrian McCullagh of the Queensland University of Technology, on the other hand, appears to have some actual credentials. He has degrees in both computer security and legal fields. Unfortunately, his major contribution to this article about how much Microsoft "thwarts" efforts to eliminate child pornography was to call for "replication of UK laws that made it a crime to refuse to decrypt data requested by police."

Different people may have different opinions on the matter of whether or not law enforcement agencies should have unfettered access to our private data. A discussion in any depth of whether such a thing is a good idea is well beyond the scope of this article. It seems incredibly short-sighted, however, to declare what is perhaps Microsoft's only completely positive contribution to computer security in recent memory — the inclusion of strong encryption for protecting sensitive data on a filesystem — a danger to public safety.

You will find no apologies for Microsoft's failings here, but credit should be given where it is due. If Microsoft Windows 7 provides filesystem encryption capable of keeping the police from accessing it without the help of the person who wishes to keep the data secret, that means that Microsoft has finally done something right in terms of offering true security to the users of its operating systems. Sensational headlines suggesting Microsoft is intentionally aiding and abetting those who violate the safety of children are irresponsible and display a shockingly amoral disregard for security.