Show
:"Captain Picard. There's a subspace message for you from Starfleet command. It's on [dramatic pause] a secure channel."
Show
:"A secure channel?!? What could be so important?"
Show
:"Good question, number one. Let's just hope it doesn't delay our rendezvous at Rigal 7. Lieutenant Worf, I'll take it in my ready room."
Show
: Generates a 256 bit public key, exchanges public keys over subspace, calculates a session key, checks validity of web certificate "Handshake protocol complete. Connection is secure."
Me: "Computer, log into Proton Mail."
Computer voice acted by Majel Barrett: "Proton Mail connection establish. Please enter user name and password."
Me: enters user name and password
Computer voice: "Warning, this connection is not secure. Hackers may be able to intercept your private information."
Me: "Computer, establish a secure connection."
Computer voice: "Unable to comply. A secure connection requires level 4 or above access."
I know that everyone makes a variation of this argument, but...
The Romulans: separated from the Federation by the "neutral zone", incredibly secretive and secluded "hermit kingdom", overly militaristic and hierarchical society, obsessed over dangerous military technology. What present day country did this represent for the average Amerikan liberal?
spoiler
The DPRK
There's no one to one correlation with any particular country
the Klingons and the Romulans were originally plot devices to tell cold war stories metaphorically, they're both vaguely amalgamations of the USSR and China