The World’s Email Encryption Software Relies on One Guy, Who is Going Broke
Phil Nelson “I’m too idealistic,” he told me in an interview at a hacker convention in Germany in December. “In early 2013 I was really about to give it all up and take a straight job.” But then the Snowden news broke, and “I realized this was not the time to cancel.”
Like many people who build security software, Koch believes that offering the underlying software code for free is the best way to demonstrate that there are no hidden backdoors in it giving access to spy agencies or others. However, this means that many important computer security tools are built and maintained by volunteers.
The people who make important stuff get jack shit for their effort, but that how new Uber For Fart Sounds app gets millions.