The use of free software is essential to surveillance. That allows Richard Stallman, the founder of the Free Software Foundation and GNU, in an interview with Tweakers. “Free software makes sure that your device is your behavior, not betray it.”
“If you have non-free software, you’re vulnerable to spying through your own computer.”, according to Stallman opposite Tweakers on the CCC security conference in Hamburg. “Anyone can be a modified version of free software to create and decide for yourself what’s out there, then. Indeed, many people can no source code to read and run so no changes in software. But it gives a kind of collective control. There is only one person that rogue functionality to find and a new version to publish.”
Stallman is the founder of the Free Software Foundation and GNU, and is a great advocate of free software, whose source code is available and can freely be adjusted. “Proprietary software submits the user,” says Stallman, alluding to software whose source code is not free, such as Windows. “Because the developers of the users in their power, they are tempted to the installation of backdoors.” In addition, he points to the kill switch that Apple and Google have built into their mobile operating systems and the companies remote apps let clear of phones, as well as similar functionality in Windows would sit.
The advocate of free software recognizes that software whose source code is freely can be viewed and edited security issues. “But free software developers feel no urge to rogue functionality to add. Developers of proprietary software do that continuously! They know that users are still not able to remove it. It makes them not matter. Users of proprietary software are sitting ducks.” There is high-quality proprietary software, you acknowledge Stallman. “But it is unethical and malicious. It is a threat to freedom.”
At the same time, the use of free software is not enough. “Other forms of surveillance need to be reduced, such as the data retention”, says Stallman. “Free software offers no waterproof protection, but it is at least security.” According to Stallman, there is politically not much has changed after the Snowden-revelations, which a year and a half ago. “It is not enough to restrict what the government may do with the collected data,” says Stallman. “We need to make it impossible to determine where everyone is going, and with whom everyone is talking.”
This is not only important for people who don’t like that they are being followed, but also to prevent whistleblowers can be arrested, argues Stallman. “We must make it impossible for whistleblowers to identify if we really have a democracy. A democracy can’t do without whistleblowers.”
Stallman emphasizes the difference between free and open source software. Both stamps are often on the same software printed, but where ‘open source’ only means that the software source code is published, it means the stamp ‘free software’ the software is also freely can and should be modified and re-distributed.
Stallman does not use a phone. “It is in theory possible to get a free phone, but not in practice,” says Stallman. “The modem phones, free software for turning, because the specifications are not known, and a manufacturer’s certificate of need to software flashing.” Therefore, only the application processor of the phone free software run. “But backdoors in the modem to ensure that not-free software to the applicatieprocessor can be geflasht it,” says Stallman.
Android is according to Stallman would not be free. The mobile version of Ubuntu and Replicant, a free clone of Android, according to Stallman no solution. “That only run on the applicatieprocessor and are thus not completely free.” Ubuntu Phone also has non-free drivers on board, draws Stallman.
The programmer, who, in 1975, the original version of Emacs wrote, do see a possibility for a privacybewuste phone, in the form of a pager that only communication can be received and nothing is returned to the network. “People would message, you can send to that pager, and you can decide whether you want to connect with the telecom network,” said Stallman.