Drew Mitnick

A United Nations board of security experts representing 20 governments has released a report critical to the future of the internet. This iterative report aims to identify areas of consensus and prevent conflict between nation states. The report fails to mention encryption, and includes underwhelming statements about rights online. However, it does help to establish boundaries for proper state behavior that are critical to maintaining a secure and free internet.

The U.S. Senate is heading home for summer recess without taking further action on the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), a.k.a. the “Darth Vader” surveillance bill. This is a victory for everyone who has spoken out against CISA. So far, you’ve generated more than six million faxes, sending a strong message to Congress: We want real security, not more cybersurveillance.

Today, senior members of the Obama Administration, including the director of the FBI, visited the U.S. Senate Judiciary and Intelligence committees to discuss encryption policy. FBI Director James Comey, along with officials from the Department of Justice and state law enforcement, requested a “dialogue” with the private sector to enable the government to obtain exceptional access to encrypted data. Yet leading security experts have made clear that such access would undermine the security of technology and the privacy of internet users around the world.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a new funding bill yesterday that could undermine the development of internet security and privacy standards while increasing funding for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which has advocated for weakening encryption. It next goes to the Senate.

Today, Access called on the Obama Administration to craft cybersecurity policies that better protect users’ security and privacy. We call for a “user-up” approach to cybersecurity that recognizes that security and privacy are intertwined. The entire security ecosystem benefits from policies that protect people as well as hardware and software.

The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that bulk collection of U.S. telephone metadata is unlawful. The ruling is the most significant judicial statement to date on the overbreadth of current U.S. surveillance practices.

Last week, Access and a number of allies sent a letter to Congressional leadership calling for improvements to the U.S. MLAT system. We point out that the current failure of the U.S. to comply quickly with requests for international legal assistance pushes governments to use other means of obtaining information, including surveillance, that infringe users’ rights and risk the integrity and interoperability of the internet.

In the United States, legislators are considering five bills that undermine users’ privacy rights under the guise of “cybersecurity.”

Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee will secretly consider the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), a bill that would enable companies to sign, seal, and deliver your personal information to the NSA.

As of this past Saturday, there are less than 100 days remaining until certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act will expire unless Congress takes action. Now is the time for Congress to pass surveillance reform, and if they cannot, to allow the USA PATRIOT Act articles to sunset.