SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Kieren McCarthy at The Register has an interesting article discussing the inclusion of encryption backdoors in the recently passed Investigatory Powers Act, also knows as the Snooper's Charter.
Among the many unpleasant things in the Investigatory Powers Act that was officially signed into law this week, one that has not gained as much attention is the apparent ability for the UK government to undermine encryption and demand surveillance backdoors.
As the bill was passing through Parliament, several organizations noted their alarm at section 217 which obliged ISPs, telcos and other communications providers to let the government know in advance of any new products and services being deployed and allow the government to demand "technical" changes to software and systems.
[...] As per the final wording of the law, comms providers on the receiving end of a "technical capacity notice" will be obliged to do various things on demand for government snoops – such as disclosing details of any system upgrades and removing "electronic protection" on encrypted communications.
Thus, by "technical capability," the government really means backdoors and deliberate security weaknesses so citizens' encrypted online activities can be intercepted, deciphered and monitored.
[...] In effect, the UK government has written into law a version of the much-derided Burr-Feinstein Bill proposed in the US, which would have undermined encryption in America. A backlash derailed that draft law.
[...] To be fair, there were some fears that Blighty's law would effectively kill off the UK software industry as well as undermine Brits' privacy, and expose them to surveillance and hacking by criminals exploiting these mandatory backdoors. This mild panic did bring about some changes to the UK's Investigatory Powers Bill before it was passed.
The question is: were the changes sufficient?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Kilo110 on Monday December 05 2016, @07:39PM
It was bound to happen eventually. The bigger question is what will happen next?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday December 05 2016, @07:55PM
Abuse, corruption, political prisoners, McCarthyism 2.0, Stasi 2.0, you name it. What the hell do you THINK this kind of technology is going to lead to in the hands of people who would pass a bill like this? I really hope some enterprising freedom-loving types are working on portable EMP generators as we speak...
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Zz9zZ on Monday December 05 2016, @08:29PM
Hehe, we sent OURSELVES back to the dark age. Yes on purpose! "Ok grandkids just one more time... the ball really got started rolling with a thing we called Zuckerbook..."
~Tilting at windmills~
(Score: 1) by Type44Q on Monday December 05 2016, @09:07PM
Guillotines would be far more appropriate.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday December 06 2016, @05:58AM
You are right.
EMP generators would be good. More Wikileaks-style revelations would be good, too. Every kind of system or approach we can think of that takes levers of control out of the hands of People Who Are Up To No Good should be pursued. Home-brew additive manufacturing, distributed energy generation, alternatives to centralized communications networks (mesh networks?), and the like are examples. There are significant hurdles to be overcome. There's no denying that. If we don't do anything, though, and coast along waiting for somebody else to do the heavy lifting, then the outcome you foretold is what will come to pass.
Washington DC delenda est.