SESSION ID: ACB-W11 Implications of the Global Push to Ban End-to-End Encryption Dr. Andrea Little Limbago Professor Lesley Seebeck Chief Social Scientist Virtru @limbagoa Professor of Practice in Cyber Security & Chief Executive Officer, Cyber Institute Australian National University @lesleyseebeck #RSAC #RSAC More than half the world’s population live under governments who have mandated, or are considering mandating, government access to data #RSAC A Global Trend with Implications for Privacy, Security, Democracy, the Digital Economy, and Internet Freedoms #RSAC Turkey: Arrests for using ByLock Iran: Telegram ban Brazil: Temporary WhatsApp bans Chad: 16-month ban on all social media The Growing Government Demand for Data Access Canada: Public Safety Minister new reframing of stance against encryption U.S.: DoJ continues to advocate for data access #RSAC Kazakhstan: Law on Communications requires every internet user to install a backdoor China 2020: Cryptography law limits public access, but under Art. 31 mandates government inspection and control of systems Turkey: Detained citizens for using ByLock messaging app Pakistan: Vague criminal prohibitions Ecuador: Service providers may be compelled to provide procedures required to decrypt any encrypted data Malawi: Government approval required for encryption-based tools India: Proposed law to allow government monitoring and decrypting South Africa: Judge can compel a person to provide a decryption key Australia 2019: Passes the Telecommunications an Other Legislation Amendment mandating backdoor access The Push to Ban End-to-End Encryption: A Translation Encryption backdoors for government-mandated ‘extraordinary access’ to data 6 #RSAC Government-Mandated Access: Justification #RSAC Eliminate safe spaces for criminal and terrorist activity – prevent ‘going dark’ Empower law enforcement with data access “The laws of mathematics are very commendable, but the only law that applies in Australia is the law of Australia” Malcolm Turnbull, 2017 7 Government-Mandated Access: Problems Surveillance National Security Corruption & Misuse 8 Data Protection #RSAC Digital Economy Governments remain stuck in decades’ long debate, limiting the ability to build constructive solutions while the criminals and dictators innovate #RSAC Back to the Future? The crypto wars are different this time Increasing Democratization of Technology 11 #RSAC #RSAC Data Collection Practices 4 Billion Networked people $561 Billion Global market size 175 Zettabytes Worldwide data 12 49% World’s data in public cloud 50 Billion Networked devices worldwide #RSAC The Trust Deficit Economic growth patterns Democracies slow to innovate political norms and institutions Institutional stagnation Urban and industrial transformation lag behind digital transformation Weakened relationship between society and government 13 #RSAC The Rise of the Risk Society • Society and individuals are considered the greater threat. • Invested interest and sunk costs perpetuate the status quo. • Risk transferred from governments and corporations to individuals. 14 Shift in Western Understandings of National Security #RSAC • Focus shift from outwards to inwards. • Extension of tools of intelligence to law enforcement. • A shift from strategic to moral concerns. 15 The Inflection Point: Divergent Models of the Role of Digital Technologies in Society Authoritarian Model Democratic Model 16 #RSAC #RSAC The Authoritarian Playbook for Information Control #RSAC The Authoritarian Playbook A How-To Guide for Information Control #RSAC Digital Authoritarianism: Core Components Disinformation Influencing narratives and behavior through false information and propaganda Cyber Attacks Data theft, dumps, disruptions, and blackouts Legalizing Data Access Data localization, anti-encryption, censorship, global standards Technology Controls Hardware and software 19 Freedom on the Net 2019 – Declining Internet Freedoms #RSAC Source: www.freedomonthenet.org