I Didn’t Say That

The privacy of a conversation with the convenience of email. That is how VaporStream pitches its product.

VaporStream is software that is said to operate like an actual conversation with few of the draw backs. Things like being worried about what you write, the time to parse and file thousands of emails, the cost of storage and — hint, hint — the expense of possible litigation.

We live in a world where most of our communication is being captured. When we call our banks, when we browse the web, when we talk on our cellphones, when we send emails, when we use our credit cards, when we receive services. Is it even remotely possible to ensure privacy in our digital lives?

Despite the promises made by VaporStream, I doubt that the software is immune to electronic eavesdropping by federal authorities.

In the United States, the NSA monitors phone calls, emails, Internet activity, text messaging and other communication. All without warrants. And although the exact scope is unknown, the NSA is or was provided total, unsupervised access to all major fiber-optic communications hubs. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has an interesting piece on the scope and magnitude of the NSA dragnet here.