Snowden re-emerges from Russian isolation with alien encryption theories

By John Casaretto Published September 22, 2015

snowden aliens encryption 1024px very large array 2012 — John Fowler - Flickr

According to U.S. government whistleblower Edward Snowden, encryption is great and all, but it might prevent us from talking to aliens.

In an appearance from Moscow on Neil deGrasse Tyson’s space-themed podcast, Snowden argued that extraterrestrials might have advanced encryption on their communications. If that is the case, it means that alien messages are indistinguishable from background radiation to us. By the same token, as our technology gets more sophisticated, the possibility increases that alien civilizations will miss us, too.

Recommended Videos

Of course, the entire hypothetical scenario discussed between deGrasse and Snowden assumes that aliens would come in peace. What if the aliens transmitting in secret using encryption were instead a military force on a mission to control, colonize, or pillage Earth? They could spy and collect information about our planets and solar system. In such a scenario, it would have been smart for us to encrypt our communication.

The search for extraterrestrial life has progressed pretty far from the early days of looking for signals in radio waves. Today, scientists also hunt for evidence of life using telescopes like Hubble. In the decade to come, NASA plans to launch telescopes that could further the search for extraterrestrial life. Since light travels faster than radio waves, this may a better way to hunt for nearby life.

Additionally, if there was a common algorithm or language that can be shared between different forms of life, it might be mathematical and binary in nature. Detecting binary transmissions would be unmistakable.

Snowden is a fan of encryption, and he utilized a variety of encrypted services to leak government information to reporters back in 2013. The world has not been the same since those revelations were released, and his life has certainly changed since he moved to Russia in the wake of international treason accusations.

It’s refreshing to hear his opinion on subjects he is interested in, even if the subject matter is best suited to the world of comic books.

Check out the podcast here:

https://soundcloud.com/startalk/a-conversation-with-edward-snowden-part-1

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

John is the founder of the security company BlackCert, a provider of SSL digital certificates and encryption products. A…

Computing

How to change margins in Google Docs

Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Computing

What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app

A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Computing

Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.