Back doors Quote by Edward Snowden
“I talk to cryptographers, some of the leading technologists in the world, all the time about how we can deal with these issues. It is not possible to create a back door that is only accessible, for example, to the FBI.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: 2013, The Guardian, Snowden interview
Security systems cannot be designed with secret access for a single agency without risking broader vulnerability.
In simple terms: Backdoors make all users unsafe.
Key Takeaway
Avoid hidden access points.
Themes
security
privacy
trust
Mood
cautious
serious
Type
ethical
political
When to use this quote
- government data requests
- software development
- policy drafting
- public debate
Key Concepts
cryptography
surveillance
risk management
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we enforce transparent security standards?
- What incentives deter agencies from demanding backdoors?
A Different Perspective
Backdoors may be technically impossible but political pressure can still force compromises.
![“I don't know if I call myself a poet or not. I would like to, but I'm not really qualified to make that decision, because I come in on such a back door, that I don't know what a Robert Frost or a [John] Keats or a T.S. Eliot would really think of my stuff.” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ca0/bob-dylan-168_back-doors_i-don-t-know-if-i-call-myself-a-poet-or_400356.jpg)
![“[Brazil] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data sovereignty."” quote by Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/af7/edward-snowden-555_brazil_brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-n_14906.jpg)
![“There was a real choice when [Barack Obama] became president. It was a very difficult choice - to say, "We're not going to hold senior officials to account with the same laws that every other citizen in the country is held to," or "This is a nation that believes in the rule of law."” quote by Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/104/edward-snowden-555_accounts_there-was-a-real-choice-when-barack-obam_27838.jpg)
