Back in 2017, Telegram Founder Pavel Durov and I had a disagreement in the marketplace of ideas (Twitter, that is), which ended with Durov saying he was willing to bet $1,000,000 to prove he was right. He wasn't, but I don't think I'll ever see a payout—and ethically could not accept it anyway—but how this happened in the first place is indicative of some of the information security industry's worst impulses. It doesn't have to be this way.
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This all started when Durov tweeted about how the Signal secure messaging app had received money from the US government. This is true; Signal received funds from the Open Technology Fund (OTF)—a nonprofit that previously was part of the US-backed Radio Free Asia. According to the OTF's website, it gave nearly $3 million to Signal between 2013 and 2016.
It's entirely legitimate to be suspicious of government funding (even if TOR, OpenVPN, and WireGuard also received OTF money), and even take a moral stand against recipients of money from governments you disagree with. But Durov went far beyond that. He seemed to think this meant Signal was bought off by the feds and predicted that a backdoor would be found within five years.
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Since my start in 2008, I've covered a wide variety of topics from space missions to fax service reviews. At PCMag, much of my work focused on security and privacy services, as well as a video game or two. I also wrote the occasional security columns, focused on making information security practical for normal people. I helped organize the Ziff Davis Creators Guild union and served as its Unit Chair.
My Areas of Expertise
Technology, security, and privacy
Security and privacy software, including VPNs
Hardware multi-factor authentication keys
Open-source software and hardware
Election security and disinformation
Interpreting infosec research for a wider audience
