Cybersecurity & Standards, Government Surveillance, Privacy & Data
A Design Defect That Could Leave Us Open to Threats
New York Times Room for Debate, from our own Nuala O’Connor:
When law enforcement and intelligence agencies try to mandate defects in the devices that power our daily lives, they are inherently making us all less secure.
Our cellphones have become effectively a part of our bodies. Like most Americans, I check my cellphone first thing in the morning and right before I go to bed. It contains my calendar, my contact book, my kids’ report cards and pictures, medical records and my banking information. Almost everything goes through my phone, and as the Supreme Court has recognized, it’s not unlike carrying a lockbox of my life around with me at all times. As a result, encryption has become critical infrastructure. It is essential to not only trusting the device and the companies with which we do business, but also to personal privacy and security — the security of our information, selves and families.
