Edward Snowden claims that if the technology keeps on becoming sophisticated and flawless then we may never be able to locate aliens and they won’t be able to notice us as well.
In a candid chit-chat session with Neil deGrasse Tyson on Friday, September 18, famous NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden spoke in defense of the citizens’ right to data and messages encryption. He also showed how to protect data from spying tools and programs using encryption.
However, Snowden was concerned about the potential disadvantage associated with data encryption, which is that aliens or extraterrestrials may never be able to identify signs of intelligent life on earth.
He believes so because as per Snowden’s theory, encrypted data will make it almost impossible to differentiate signals sent by aliens from cosmic background radiation.
Snowden joined Tyson on the latter’s much talked about StarTalk podcast from Moscow through a robot video link called “beam remote presence system.”
The former NSA contractor informed the astrophysicist about why he thinks encryption will interrupt in our efforts to communicate with aliens.
He explained that encrypted communication, if conducted properly, aims at securing the information or data of the user so that only the intended recipient is able to access it. Therefore, “if you have an alien civilization trying to listen for other civilizations or our civilization trying to listen for aliens, there’s only one small period in the development of their society when all of their communication will be sent via the most primitive and most unprotected means. So what we are hearing that’s actually an alien television show or you know, a phone call … is indistinguishable to us from cosmic microwave background radiation,” said Snowden.
To this, Tyson added that extraterrestrials may not be as interested in keeping their data secure through encryption because they probably don’t “have the same security problems as us.”
It is a fact that astronomers are planning to implant an interplanetary spying mechanism to scan through the neighboring galaxies to catch radio signals.
Although two of the most powerful telescopes in the world will be used for this purpose, there is still a considerable probability that they overlook encrypted messages.
However, Snowden also stated that those searching for aliens must not give up because it is possible that the extraterrestrials may send us an unencrypted message to locate life on this planet.
Listen to the interview below:
StarTalk
WDIM
