This week I'm focusing on a single critical topic - the struggle between privacy advocates and governments over cryptography. This is a sensitive topic and there are a lot of extreme positions on the matter. I attempt to take a balanced look at both sides of the issue, offer my thoughts about who might win the war, and I explore what the eventual outcome might mean for intelligence professionals. However, I also argue that if either side "wins" the war without understanding and accommodating the positions of the other, we all stand to lose.

This is a slightly shorter and more focused episode but I'm exploring this format with the intention of releasing more than one episode per week. Please let me know what you think about the format change. You can do that on the Covert Contact Facebook Page or by connecting with me on Twitter @CovertContact.

This Week's Five to Follow

@PwnAllTheThings - Security Researcher and Crypto-Wizard with all the secure golden keys.

@kyrah - A hacker and security researcher before she became a diplomat. She always has smart things to say about security and is a breath of fresh air on the topic of cyberwar.

@matthew_d_green - Assistant Research Professor at the Johns Hopkins Information Security Institute. He blogs at http://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/

@briankrebs - Journalist, formerly of the Washington Post, turned security expert. He blogs at http://krebsonsecurity.com.

@stilgherrian - A prolific Australian freelance journalist, commentator and podcaster whose work can be found on ZDNet Australia, Crikey, ABC, Sydney Morning herald and his blog at http://stilgherrian.com/