The Four Horsemen

From the recent essay "Anarchy" by T.C. May:

    The use of encryption by "evil" groups, such as 
    child pornographers, terrorists, abortionists, abor-
    tion protestors, etc., is cited by those who wish to 
    limit civilian access to crypto tools. We call these the 
    "Four Horsemen of the Infocalypse", as they are so 
    often cited as the reason why ordinary citizen-units 
    of the nation-state are not to have access to crypto.

A problem with the Four Horsemen is the various definitions
currently in use on the Net. Two of them are generally agreed 
upon: Drug Dealer and Terrorist. Usually either Pedophile or 
Pornographer is the third. The fourth varies the most: Tax
Evader, Spy etc. Abortionist and Abortionist-Killer are new
prospects.

Who were the Original Four? (No, I'm not asking about White,
Red, Black and Pale.)

Mats


quit

Mats Bergstrom wrote:

> >From the recent essay "Anarchy" by T.C. May:
> 
>     The use of encryption by "evil" groups, such as 
>     child pornographers, terrorists, abortionists, abor-
>     tion protestors, etc., is cited by those who wish to 
>     limit civilian access to crypto tools. We call these the 
>     "Four Horsemen of the Infocalypse", as they are so 
>     often cited as the reason why ordinary citizen-units 
>     of the nation-state are not to have access to crypto.
> 
> A problem with the Four Horsemen is the various definitions
> currently in use on the Net. Two of them are generally agreed 
> upon: Drug Dealer and Terrorist. Usually either Pedophile or 
> Pornographer is the third. The fourth varies the most: Tax
> Evader, Spy etc. Abortionist and Abortionist-Killer are new
> prospects.
> 
> Who were the Original Four? (No, I'm not asking about White,

I probably should have been more careful in explicitly listing the
"main candidates" for the Four Horsemen:

- Terrorists

- Drug Dealers

- Money Launderers

- Child Pornographers

Others may have different lists, but these are the main "threats"
suggested by most. My reference to "abortionists, abortion protestors"
was to show that _both_ sides of the issue consider the other side to be
a threat.

--Tim May


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