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0 pointsShank4y ago0 comments

> Who audits these databases? Where is the oversight to guarantee only appropriate content is included? They are famously opaque because the very viewing of the content is illegal. So how can we know that they contain what they are purported to contain?

I wholeheartedly agree: there is an audit question here too. The contents of the database are by far the most dangerous part of this equation, malicious or not, targeted or not. I don't like the privacy implications about this, nor the potential for abuse. I would love to see some kind of way to audit the database, or ensure that it's only used "for good." I just don't know what that system is, and I know that PhotoDNA is already in use on other cloud providers.

Matthew Green's ongoing analysis [0] is really worth keeping an eye on. For example, there's a good question: can you just scan against a different database for different people? These are the right questions given what we have right now.

[0]: https://twitter.com/matthew_d_green/status/14233782854682091...

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6 comments · 2 top-level

shuckles4y ago· 4 in thread

Matt should read the release before live tweeting FUD. The database is shipped in the iOS image, per the overview, so targeting users is not an issue (roughly).

pushrax4y ago

Is the database frozen or can they push out updates independently of iOS updates? If not, targeting individual users definitely doesn't seem possible unless you control OS signing.

shuckles4y ago

The database is shipped in the iOS image.

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pseudalopex4y ago

You should understand the difference between a protocol and an easy to change implementation detail before throwing around words like FUD.

shuckles4y ago

Has Matt redacted any of the FUD from his tweets last night which aren’t true given the published details from today? For example, his claim that the method is vulnerable to black box attacks from GANs isn’t applicable to the protocol because the attacker can’t access model outputs.

Furthermore, if “an easy to change implementation detail” in your threat model is anything which could be changed by iOS update, you should’ve stopped using iPhone about 14 years ago.

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cwkoss4y ago

Do the people authorized to query the database have access to view its contents?

How many people in the world can certify that it only contains CSAM? I wonder if there are images of US troops committing warcrimes, or politicians doing cocaine, or honeypot intel op blackmail images in there too. Lots of powerful people would love to have an early warning system for leaks of embarrassing non-CSAM images.

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