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Don’t
Panic: Making
Progress on
the “Going
Dark” Debate
New
Report from
Harvard Berkman
Center's
Cybersecurity
Project
Reframes the
Encryption
Debate
February
1, 2016
(Cambridge,
MA) –
The Berklett
Cybersecurity
project of the
Berkman Center
for Internet
& Society
at Harvard
University is
pleased to
announce the
publication of
a new report
entitled “Don’t
Panic: Making
Progress on
the ‘Going
Dark’ Debate.”
The report
examines the
high-profile
debate around
government
access to
encryption,
and offers a
new
perspective
gleaned from
the
discussion,
debate, and
analyses of an
exceptional
and diverse
group of
security and
policy experts
from academia,
civil society,
the private
sector, and
the U.S.
intelligence
community.
“Many
conversations
on sensitive
subjects of
technology and
security are
productive
because
they’re among
people who
already
agree,” said
Prof. Jonathan
Zittrain,
faculty chair
of the Berkman
Center. “The
aim of this
project is to
bring together
people who
come from very
different
starting
points and
roles, and who
very rarely
have a chance
to speak
frankly with
one another.
We want to
come away with
some common
insights that
could help
push the
discussion
into some new
territory.”
The report
takes issue
with the usual
framing of the
encryption
debate and
offers context
and insights
that widen the
scope of the
conversation
to more
accurately
reflect the
surveillance
landscape both
now and in the
future.
“In this
report, we’re
questioning
whether the
‘going dark’
metaphor used
by the FBI and
other
government
officials
fully
describes the
future of the
government’s
capacity to
access
communications,”
said Berkman
Center fellow
Bruce
Schneier. “We
think it
doesn’t. While
it may be true
that there are
pockets of
dimness, there
other areas
where
communications
and
information
are actually
becoming more
illuminated,
opening up
more vectors
for
surveillance.”
“There’s no
question that
the use of
encryption
impedes
government
surveillance
of terrorists
and
criminals,”
said Matthew
Olsen, former
Director of
the National
Counterterrorism
Center. “And
we take
seriously the
concerns of
the FBI and
others about
encryption. We
looked forward
to consider
the overall
trajectory of
technology and
surveillance,
and identified
points of
consensus
about the
government’s
ability to
collect
information
necessary to
protect the
public.”
Set within the
recent
implementation
of encryption
by various
companies and
the recent
history of the
government’s
increasing
concerns, the
report
outlines how
market forces
and commercial
interests as
well as the
increasing
prevalence of
networked
sensors in
machines and
everyday
appliances
point to a
future with
more
opportunities
for
surveillance,
not less.
The group and
report’s
signatories
include
high-profile
individuals
who bring a
spectrum of
perspectives
to the table.
“The sign-on
from this set
of
participants
is unique.
These are
people who
were likely to
disagree about
many things in
the debate,
and yet we
found common
ground,” said
Senior
Researcher
David O’Brien.
See the
report page on
the Berkman
Center website
for a brief
summary of
the findings
and to
download the
report.
About
the Berklett
Cybersecurity
Project
The Berkman
Center for
Internet &
Society’s
Berklett
Cybersecurity
project
convenes a
diverse group
of security
and policy
experts from
academia,
civil society,
and the U.S.
intelligence
community to
explore and
evaluate the
roles and
responsibilities
of the U.S.
government in
promoting
cybersecurity.
This group is
examining a
wide range of
topics
including,
among others,
the ongoing
encryption
debate,
public-private
information
sharing, and
responsible
disclosures of
software
vulnerabilities.
The project is
led by
Professor
Jonathan
Zittrain,
former
National
Counterterrorism
Center
Director
Matthew Olsen,
and
cryptographer
and civil
liberties
author Bruce
Schneier. The
name
“Berklett” is
a portmanteau
of “Berkman”
and “Hewlett,”
as in the
William and
Flora Hewlett
Foundation,
which
generously
supports the
effort. More
information at
https://brk.mn/cybersecurity.
Media Contact:
David O’Brien,
Senior
Researcher,
dobrien@cyber.law.harvard.edu
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About the Berkman Center for Internet & Society
Founded in 1997, the Berkman Center for Internet
& Society
at Harvard
University is
dedicated to
exploring,
understanding,
and shaping
the
development of
the
digitally-networked
environment. A
diverse,
interdisciplinary
community of
scholars,
practitioners,
technologists,
policy
experts, and
advocates, we
seek to tackle
the most
important
challenges of
the digital
age while
keeping a
focus on
tangible
real-world
impact in the
public
interest. Our
faculty,
fellows, staff
and affiliates
conduct
research,
build tools
and platforms,
educate
others, form
bridges and
facilitate
dialogue
across and
among diverse
communities.
More
information at
www.cyber.law.harvard.edu.
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