From Canada to Hong Kong to Spain, this past week saw multiple Mycelium Entropy devices arrive to their new owners in a less-than-shiny condition. In fact, the shipping envelopes had not only been opened, but the tamper-evident cases inside had been pried apart, leaving the security sticker compromised.
A knee-jerk reaction might be, “Well, the packages were opened by customs. That's what customs does.” But this incident has caused some to re-examine the belief that it's permissible for strangers to intercept and open mail.
Why? Because Mycelium Entropy devices contain information that can be used to access the life's savings of a Bitcoin user. In this light, suddenly the toleration of mail snooping feels a lot more foolish.
Redditor Throwahoymatie didn't mince words when he wrote:
“Normally this would be called stalking and harassment, and damage to private property. Might get you seven years or more in jail if you didn't work for the Lord Gov our Savior.”
The tampering with en route Entropies couldn't have come at a more coincidental time. Amazon recently announced that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been so slow in “approving” their drone delivery plans that they're taking their aspirations elsewhere (namely Europe and Asia).
How might the Entropy devices have arrived if an Amazon-inspired Mycelium drone – rather than an entrenched shipping corporation – had delivered them instead?
From the Source
If companies followed Amazon's plans to deliver packages via drone, it would be a boon to consumers. No, more than a boon – it would be a potentially serious upgrade in security.
As the prime example, how many of the world's laptops might be free of NSA spyware if – instead of being “interdicted” through traditional shipping methods – they were instead delivered via drone, straight from the manufacturer?
The problem of trust wouldn't be completely eliminated, of course, but bypassing entrenched third parties like FedEx, UPS, and especially state postal services would at least cut out the least accountable actors in the process.
Invasion of the Drones!
And here's where I'll go slightly futuristic on you.
One of the more recent episodes of South Park, entitled The Magic Bush, explored what things might look like if drones took over the skies. You'd no longer feel like your own fenced backyard were private, for example, because any drone flying overhead may well be taking aerial footage.
Which is exactly why drones should not fly over people's yards. Or their houses. Or any piece of private property, for that matter. The solution is related, ironically, to the oh-so-common fear regarding a stateless society: What about the roads?
And drones are exactly what the roads could be really good for in the future. Not for driving, of course, but for flying above. If roads are indeed public property, they present an excellent solution to the privacy problem of miniature cameras with wings flying over your backyard. Let drones fly over the roads, instead – they can turn on a dime, after all.
And in a less regulation-ridden place than the USA, this vision just might come true. Probably will. And valuable packages may one day be delivered un-opened to shoppers' homes. Hey, Bitcoiners – dream big.
Did you enjoy this article? You may also be interested in reading these ones: