[PLUG] OpenVPN BOF meeting?

Paul Heinlein heinlein at madboa.com
Thu Dec 4 18:27:52 UTC 2008


On Wed, 3 Dec 2008, Keith Lofstrom wrote:

> Part of what makes this hard is that we normally think about moving 
> information, not about restricting it, and the whole VPN/SSL process 
> is about protecting information from unwanted release.  In the real 
> world, there are resourceful psychopaths that want to hurt me for 
> sport, and we design encrypted VPN tunnels to hide from them.  That 
> is quite unpleasant and depressing to think about.

Another way to think about it is that life is full of data and 
communications that aren't meant for the public record. Some 
relationships demand more privacy than others, but the slice of my 
life that I want to open to all of humanity is fairly small. Most 
relationships assume some level of privacy.

Relationships conducted via digital media are no different. A VPN 
tunnel is one way to install confidence of all involved in the 
relationship that the expected privacy level will be maintained.

At our office, all of us from the CEO on down work in cubicles. No one 
has a private office. I don't take it as an insult -- or as a sign of 
paranoia -- when some colleagues go to a meeting room for a private 
discussion. They have things to do that don't involve me, and four 
walls and a door are a reasonable tool to ensure privacy.

When my wife and I need to discuss a point of parenting on which we're 
not in full agreement, we do the same sort of thing: go on a walk or 
retire to our bedroom. While the artifacts of that discussion will be 
made plain to our daughters, the discussion itself is more private.

To my mind, a VPN is no different. It's a method -- not much different 
than a conference room or a whispered conversation -- to instill 
confidence among people who need to communicate privately.

Can security be an artifact of paranoia or a symbol that someone has 
no trust in their surroundings? Sure. Need it be? No.

> Suggested solution - an OpenVPN BOF meeting
>
> [helpful details snipped]
>
> If somebody else volunteers to arrange a time and gather people
> and hector them into reading (if not understanding) the OpenVPN
> documentation, perhaps we can set something up.  If smart guys
> like Paul want to stop by and help, that would be most welcome.

A BOF or a non-Wednesday advanced topics meeting would be cool. I'd be 
happy to help out or even make a presentation.

-- 
Paul Heinlein <> heinlein at madboa.com <> http://www.madboa.com/



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