Sending hardcopy by quadcopter - it's the new email

[P3nT4gR4m]

http://singularityhub.com/2014/02/25/drones-to-deliver-government-docs-in-the-united-arab-emirates-next-year/ 

Just thinking about how we could develop this further by transporting the guy who wrote the document to the recipient site, where he types it out in person, maybe

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Well, if you needed to securely send a sensitive document, what would you do?

[P3nT4gR4m]

Email it.

Quadcopter failure is much more common than people breaking an unbreakable encryption. So to avoid the risk of using unbreakable encryption, you reckon it's better to risk the thing just falling out of the sky or being shot down by someone who wants to read it?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Is there really such a thing as truly unbreakable encryption?

[Pæs]

Yes, but it unfortunately is also irreversible. You delete the text and then send the message.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Yes, but it unfortunately is also irreversible. You delete the text and then send the message.

[Cain]

Is there really such a thing as truly unbreakable encryption?

A one-time pad is unbreakable when done right.  Failing that, PGP encryption is fairly simple and appears impossible to crack by existing cryptanalysis methods.

Of course, the problems with both of those are the end-user security, and the possibility of being dragged off into the woods for a game of "50 rounds with a hot poker and one simple question", but from a technical POV, both are viable.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Well, then, I guess the government might as well just email away!

[Cain]

Yes, but how can you use emails to allow your political backers to skim funds off government contracts?  Drones allow that, and they're WHITE HOT BLEEDING EDGE POSTMODERN TECHNOLOGY!

Plus it'll show Jeff Bezos up.

[Telarus]

 

Drones would be pretty handy to move gold or arms surreptitiously.

[LMNO]

And "faulty" ones would be a really good way to spread disinfo to enemy intel.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

And "faulty" ones would be a really good way to spread disinfo to enemy intel.

Oh hell yes.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Is there really such a thing as truly unbreakable encryption?

A one-time pad is unbreakable when done right.  Failing that, PGP encryption is fairly simple and appears impossible to crack by existing cryptanalysis methods.

Of course, the problems with both of those are the end-user security, and the possibility of being dragged off into the woods for a game of "50 rounds with a hot poker and one simple question", but from a technical POV, both are viable.

Cutting to the chase as ever. When your weakest link isn't the transport medium, wasting resources securing that would seem redundant. If security is comedy weak, you might get away with a systems hack but if the goods are wrapped up reasonably tightly, the smart player will attack exploits in the human components.

[Cain]

Drones would be pretty handy to move gold or arms surreptitiously.

Bitcoin and 3d printer plans for guns.

See, drones really are inferior to email.

[Telarus]

  Good point.

Emergency Medical Supplies? I think they've been doing that in Africa for a year or two.