SDxCentral
Join Log In
SD-WAN 1 5G 11 Edge 5 IoT 12 SDN 3 NFV 4 Containers 4 Cloud 11 Security 3 AI 5 Data Center 1 Storage 3 APM/NPM 1 Open Source

Log In to SDxCentral

Log in with your email? Forgot your password?
  • Newsletters
  • eBriefs
  • Podcasts
  • Webinars
  • Videos
  • Directory
  • White Papers
  • Resources
  • Use Cases
  • Support

Join SDxCentral and get information tailored to your particular interests everyday.

Join
Sponsored:
Dell EMC 3 Citrix Riverbed

Edward Snowden Wakes Up the Audience at OpenStack Summit 2017

Edward Snowden at OpenStack 2017
Linda Hardesty
Linda HardestyMay 9, 2017
6:07 pm MT
Email LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Reddit Hacker News

BOSTON — At the OpenStack Summit 2017 conference today, several of the keynote presenters typed programming commands on their computers while the audience watched the code on the big screens. Thrilling stuff, for sure. But the live-streamed interview with Edward Snowden from Russia, took the excitement up a notch further.

Snowden told the audience of OpenStack programmers that the future of the Internet, and even the future of the world, is in their hands.

“We’re at a crossroads; a moral dilemma we did not ask for or see,” said Snowden. “This is the atomic moment.” He was referring to the invention of the Internet and how “bad actors” can use it to influence world events.

Snowden told the attendees that they were in positions to influence how cloud infrastructure is built.

“We can’t let people go to this mindlessly when they’re in the act of building,” he said. “You could use Amazon’s EC2 or Google’s Compute Engine, but they’re fundamentally disempowering. You give them money, and in exchange you get the service. But you’re providing them with data and giving up control. You’re sinking costs into an infrastructure that is not yours.”

He admitted that creating a private cloud using OpenStack requires a lot more technical understanding. But at least a business owns that infrastructure. “If you’re running things on Google’s stack or Amazon’s stack, how do you know when it starts spying on you?” he asked. “You don’t have any awareness of this.”

Yay for Open Source!

Snowden also touted the benefit of open source software, such as OpenStack, because it involves whole communities to solve security problems, transparently.

“The beauty of open source is that it makes bugs more shallow,” he said. “But they still get through. When something does come through, the entire community can respond, and they do. When Apple or Google or Amazon has an issue, we don’t know what they learned. We can’t evaluate if their response was good enough.”

Snowden wrapped it up by giving the OpenStack audience a rousing pep talk: “Fundamentally, we don’t work for governments, states, or corporations. We should be working for the spirit of technology itself, moving people toward a more empowered future. The point of open source is — we don’t have to compromise. We want a better world, so we’re here to build it.”

Photo below: A whole group of programmers working on their OpenStack clouds in real time at the OpenStack Summit 2017.

OpenStack Summit

Related Articles

Pulse Secure Adds Software-Defined Perimeter, Protects Hybrid IT
Pulse Secure Adds Software-Defined Perimeter, Protects Hybrid IT
AT&T 5G Airship Plans Powered by Mirantis
AT&T 5G, Airship Plans Powered by Mirantis
Turkcell Launches Largest Virtualized Mobile Network In the Middle East
Turkcell Launches Largest Virtualized Mobile Network In EMEA Region
Baidu’s Cloud Playbook Goes ‘All Out’ for AI
Baidu’s Cloud Playbook Goes ‘All Out’ for AI
Linux Foundation Launches LF Edge Group With Five Projects
Linux Foundation Launches LF Edge Group With 5 Projects
IBM Boasts Another Big Win, Touts Hybrid Cloud Prowess
IBM Boasts Another Big Win, Touts Hybrid Cloud Prowess
SDxCentral Daily News

Join your Peers! Subscribe to SDxCentral's Newsletter

Article Tags:

Breaking News Cloud OpenStack OpenStack Summit 2017

Linda Hardesty

About Linda Hardesty

Linda Hardesty was the Executive Editor at SDxCentral where she oversaw the news coverage for a team of writers. She's been a trade journalist since the mid-1990s, alternately writing about telecommunications and energy. Prior to SDxCentral, she was editor of Energy Manager Today. Previously, she wrote for Cable World magazine and Communications Technology. Linda can be reached at lhardesty@sdxcentral.com.

Subscribe to Get the Daily News!

About SDxCentral

  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Work With Us
  • Editorial Team
  • Careers
  • Legal
  • Support

Engage With us

This material may not be copied, reproduced, or modified in whole or in part for any purpose except with express written permission from an authorized representative of SDxCentral, LLC. In addition to such written permission to copy, reproduce, or modify this document in whole or part, an acknowledgement of the authors of the document and all applicable portions of the copyright notice must be clearly referenced. All Rights Reserved.

© 2012-2019 SDxCentral, LLC, All Rights Reserved. SDNCentral™, the SDNCentral logo, SDxCentral™, SDxCentral logo, SDxNews™, SDxTech™, SDx™, the SDx logo, and DemoFriday™ are trademarks of SDxCentral, LLC in the U.S. and other countries.

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy