Evening,
I thought this might be of interest.
http//
"Not really, of course - but soon, permanently vanishing web correspondence could be the next step in maintaining your privacy online.
Emails, Facebook messages, and Google Docs can all be set to disappear into thin air by using new software developed by the University of Washington and called, appropriately enough, Vanish. "
I visited the site and found this line to be particularly provocative
By the time the hacker or someone with a subpoena actually tries to obtain access to the message, the pieces of the key will have permanently disappeared.
A subpoena is a legal document empowering the bearer to obtain lawful access to something which could be evidence. Most people who develop software or devices to be used in defense or privacy make the disclaimer that the device should only be used in accordance with the law. These guys seem to be stepping over the line in that regard.
Moreover, think of the implications. Suppose I decide to use this to send or post a message threatening another person. Everyone participating in the P2P network could be aiding and abetting the commission of a crime.
Finally, there is the issue of the US Federal Rules of Evidence. There is a positive duty to preserve evidence if there is reasonable belief that the evidence could be used in a legal proceeding. It is true that, as they say, lawyers will sometimes do things over the phone that they don't wish to be discoverable however, one might argue that in so doing, they are not creating evidence. But spoken communication truly is ephemeral, as they say. Once the message has been uttered and heard, it no longer exists. In contrast, Vanish messages are only "ephemeral" because they are made to destruct. They are not ephemeral by nature, but by deliberate destruction.
Seems to me that far from being a tool for protecting such communication this could be a real liability to those who use it for that purpose.