Privacy Vs. National Security: Debate Over Encryption Ban Takes a New Turn in the US
Active discussions over Encryption ban take a new turn as the US Intelligence Committee Leaders released Discussion draft of Encryption bill. Bitcoin community members ring alarm bells. Encryption is not a new nor a radical discussion topic. It has been hitting the headlines even more for the last couple of months. Government officials around the world are proposing bills to have encryption weakened with the only intention to protect citizens from criminals and terrorists. A little while ago, the US state lawmakers proposed a new bill to weaken smartphone encryption by default, to avoid....
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In response to the tragic terror attacks in France, intelligence agencies have launched another campaign against strong encryption, such as the type that tech companies use to create secure end-to-end communication services. Intelligence agencies are attempting to blame the encryption as an enabler for extremists to plan and follow through with terror attacks. After recent attempts to stifle encryption failed, it seems like this is an opportune time to rebuild their attacks on encryption due to this tragedy. In a strategy found in a leaked email sent by the intelligence community’s top....
Bitcoin was seemingly dragged into the very public debate on privacy and encryption recently. Specifically, President Barack Obama warned that if the government can't access phones, “...everybody is walking around with a Swiss bank account in their pocket,” which appeared to refer to cryptocurrency. Last week, Bitcoin Magazine reported on Bitcoin's industry representatives and their positions on encryption, privacy, Bitcoin's role in tax evasion and money laundering and more. In part two of our coverage: What do the actual builders of these pocket-sized “Swiss bank accounts” think? Bitcoin....
February 11, 2016 —The use of encryption whether in messaging applications, using Bitcoin and other methods of privacy-centric technology continues to bother global leaders. Some of these technical advances have given authorities the opinion that they are being kept in the “dark.” Now Government officials in the U.S. are proposing to increase their funding to crack today’s encryption methods and enhance security. The Obama administration’s latest proposal the “Cybersecurity National Action Plan” details that the president believes cybersecurity is a difficult challenge for America. The....
WhatsApp has decided to turn on encryption for all messages. Will this lead to more private conversations or have they just opened a can of worms? What is encryption and how will it work for WhatsApp users? On April 5, 2016, WhatsApp announced on its blog that they were going to start providing full end-to-end encryption. The announcement says: “The idea is simple: when you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to. No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us.....
The interception of private correspondence is always a touchy subject. On one hand there are questions of privacy and on the other hand state security. There are many people who are willing to trade privacy for security in an era which is dominated by terrorism, strife and other random senseless violence. However, whatever may be the cost, privacy is important and the ability to carry out your business and private life without the fear of eavesdropping by third parties is still a right that most people yearn for. In an effort to protect their customer’s privacy, many companies are....