RE: Does Privacy Exist Anymore + Open Questions/Discussion
As the others have said, there are holes in everything. So a determined person/nation state etc will find a way in.
Just take a look at the recent ransom ware attack. That was a leak from NSA of security flaws they kept quiet so they could use them in attacks. If a body like NSA can't keep their stuff secure do not expect that any online service/pc is secure and you will be fine.
Chilling for free speech though if people are afraid to say what they think/believe in fear of eavesdropping etc
I do not believe Linux/BSD etc is any more secure than any propriety system. Most of the exploits are actually really technical and require a few vectors to break through. So the fact that the code is "open" does not help. There is the more eyes argument but most "security researchers" are in it for the rewards. Contributing the fix to the source pays nothing, getting the bounty after exposing it makes more. Getting a metric crap tonne of dosh from a nation state for the exploit pays more. :)
Do you think that Linux will be targeted specifically or banned by nation states in the future? And what do you think of the Linux time stamp issue?
I am sure that most nations have a cache of zero day exploits for as many systems as they can lay their hands on, only rolled out when needed for fear of leaking the info and the holes being plugged