back to article Netherlands votes to splash cash on encryption projects

The Netherlands' Lower House has thrown its weight behind a plan to improve key open source security solutions, and has voted €500,000 towards a range of projects. Swimming against the European tide somewhat, the house said it wants to strengthen data encryption, rather than weakening it. Originally, D66 MP Kees Verhoeven had …

  1. A Non e-mouse Silver badge
    Mushroom

    With this action, it's clear that the Netherlands are terrorist sympathisers. I bet they even let Muslins into their country! America must join forces with the rest of Western Europe and bomb them from the face of the planet. It's the only way to keep us all safe from these peado supporting ner' do wells.

    </sarcasm>

    1. Anonymous Blowhard

      @A Non e-mouse

      You forgot to mention drugs...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "You forgot to mention drugs..."

        Actually most American states allow you to carry more weed than is legal to carry in the Netherlands:

        http://www.the-netherlands.org/news/2015/02/marijuana-laws-and-policies.html

        In the Netherlands it's decriminalized rather than legal.

    2. big_D Silver badge

      Better add Germany to the list of targets.

      We let in Muslims and we have an initiative to ensure all email that is exchanged within the countries borders should be encrypted end-to-end.

    3. Stoneshop
      Coat

      I bet they even let Muslins into their country!

      Sure. And also bombazine, burlap, calico, canvas, cheesecloth, chiffon, chintz, corduroy, cretonne, denim, Donegal tweed, flannel, gabardine, gauze, Harris Tweed, herringbone, Irish linen, oilskin, poplin, satin, serge, silk, taffeta, tweed, twill and voile.

      (the dark green Loden longcoat, thanks)

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I bet they even let Muslins into their country!

        This is dark news indeed, how can I cook my traditional Christmas Pudding without muslin?

    4. Christoph

      No need to bomb the Netherlands. The sea level rise that we're already committed to will probably be enough to flood the lot.

      1. Stoneshop

        enough to flood the lot

        Bollocks. The Tibetans will be donning their wellies before the sea level rise will bother us.

        “God created the earth, but the Dutch created the Netherlands.”

      2. Grikath

        @ christoph

        Yeah.. sea level rise...

        If even our most completely risk-averse and completely greenie-politically-correct no-spine politicians are not in the least worried about that one, you can probably tell how likely that particular doom scenario is...

    5. harmjschoonhoven

      Re: sarcasm

      America must join forces with the rest of Western Europe and bomb them from the face of the planet.

      We are prepared: The air raid sirens are tested every first monday of the month at 12 o'clock sharp.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Big Brother

    Horse before the cart

    Now.. of only someone could get a fit-for-purpose SSL TLS spec ratified, that isn't designed by the NSA, for the NSA, then perhaps this stringent-implementation push might actually be worth something.

    Broken by design.

  3. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge

    Token gesture, really

    500,000 euro is very little. Welcome, of course, but hardly a major push. Knowing Dutch politics, and minister Kamp in particular, he will use every opportunity to weasel out of this or procrastinate it for YEARS. The plans will no doubt go through the usual process of being "sent in, sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in soft peat for three months and recycled as firelighters."

    Doffs hat to the late, great Douglas Adams (the black Mayser Trecking today)

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Why

    The EU is very busy making encryption illegal, and don't want the people to use any form of encrytion. Why pay 500K? That's cheap for a build-in backdoor!

  5. noj

    Why all the cynicism? If there's a reason for it please let me know.

    I for one wish the Netherlands well and success.

    If the Netherlands does produce a worthwhile product that goes open source and gets endorsement by the right encryption authorities, I will gladly use their products.

    On a broader front, this is the natural fallout of not being able to trust the US and other governments that are pushing weaker encryption at all of our expense.

    Edit: Bruce Schneier is compiling a list of encryption products to show that there is plenty of efforts being made. You can find it on his blog: https://www.schneier.com/

    1. Crazy Operations Guy

      The projects they are funding are already open source and you are already using them. The money is earmarked for code improvements and ensuring that there aren't any bugs rattling around (such as Heartbleed or Poodle). These projects aren't trying to create new algorithms, merely ensuring that existing algorithms are implemented safely.

  6. JaitcH
    Unhappy

    Just another reason ...

    for the Tories to quit the EU.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Angel

      Re: Just another reason ...

      I wish the Tories would quit the UK

  7. Crazy Operations Guy

    I love it when countries understand how to properly decrypt something

    The Netherlands and rest of Scandinavia / Bavaria all seem to understand that the best way of getting at encrypted data: Acquire a warrant from a legitimate judge, present said warrant to the owner of the encryption key and giving them the opportunity to challenge the warrant (or to later challenge the evidence gathered by the warrant before going to trial).

    Interesting how the countries that have don't treat every citizen or refugee like terrorists have the least number of terrorism-related attacks.

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