TERROR, SECURITY AND INTERNET: ISSUES OF ENCRYPTION AND PRIVACY
Terror, Security and Internet: Issues of Encryption and Privacy
Introduction
Security is indeed of immense importance to every nation of the world. This is why nations of the world do their best to fight against terrorism. With the advancement of the technology, terror and security issues are made more pronounced over the internet. The internet is obviously the greatest wonder the world has ever known. Its relevance is obvious in every aspect of life, and it has gone a long way in making the twenty-first-century life very easy. However, the security and privacy issues posed by the internet make it quite unsafe irrespective of the incredible benefits and solutions it proffers. Needless to say, online availability of everything is exposed to the entire world and anybody that knows the way can gain access. The twenty-first century has been dubbed the age of information because information is available at the snap of a finger but these are made available online. Thus, the issues of privacy and security as it relates to the internet are global concerns. Moreover, governments' surveillance programs target this information made available online as they leverage them to access any detail regarding any investigation whatsoever. This paper takes a dramatic look at the issues of terror, security as it relates to the internet, making reference to the problems posed by encryption and privacy.
Security and Encryption
Lessig (1999) was right in opining that encryption technologies are obviously the most important technological breakthrough in the last one thousand years. It is simply a process of protecting communication and information stored and transmitted by computers against interception to a very high degree.
With the restriction on encryption comes the issue of privacy, terror, and surveillance. One can argue that the government has a legitimate claim in opposing 128-bit key encryption, but obviously, the aforementioned reason is not the only cause why the government holds strongly to their claims. The recent revelation of Edward Snowden, a fugitive contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), proves this to be true. Snowden exposed the immense spying activity of the United States on both its friends and foes. Obviously, such spying would be largely impossible with the 128-bit key encryption (The Economist, 2015). According to Shah (2013), Snowden revealed that there have been more than 61,000 hacking operations globally with hundreds of them targeting Hong Kong and China. He also pointed out that the U.S hack network backbones including internet routers and this give them access to the communication of hundreds of thousands of computers without going through the stress of hacking them individually.
Revelations Made By Edward Snowden and Wikileaks
The Edward Snowden’s saga as appears today is well known by most people on earth. The renowned systems administrator escaped from the United States of America and took asylum in Russia (Kelley, 2014). Edward is dubbed the most dangerous leaker in the history of the United States, and his escapade has been linked with his association with Wikileaks, an organization that has been recognized for their antagonism towards the United States. To understand the event surrounding Edward Snowden, it is important to note that Wikileaks is bent at facilitating U.S government leaks.
Edward revealed a lot of secrets regarding the secret mass surveillance programs conducted by the U.S National Security Agency. Shah (2013) pointed out that the members of the U.S Congress were awed at the revelation of Snowden because they were unaware of the Mass Surveillance Program. Edward also revealed that the U.S government access lots of user data from internet giants. He pointed out that the NSA has some kind of backdoor or access to the vast amount of data tech companies have on their users, but the internet giants deny this claim. The U.S does not only spy on organizations and American citizens but extends this activity on citizens of other countries as well as friendly countries and international institutions (Shah, 2013). It is argued that the U.S and British government gather such large haystacks of data as a measure to easily seek traces of terrorists and criminals. However, most of these data is not collected for tracing and targeting terrorists and criminals. The Economist (2015) argued that part of the reasons why the government gathers such large haystacks of data is because they can do it and evidently, the biggest internet firms are American, and some of the most important undersea fiber-optic cables run from Britain.
Terror and Security Issues – The Paris and San Bernardino Attacks
San Bernadino attack of 2015 is one of the terrors witnessed by the United States. A lot of questions surround the attack primarily because of the location where it occurred. Many sources question the fact that the event is an ISIS terror attack stating that such terrorists would rather choose locations with much populace. However, Adams (2015) argued that the San Bernadino shooting has all the signs of staged government operation or ISIS terror attack from the information gathered. Contrary to what some news agencies say, Adams (2015) argued that the shootings do not in any way resemble ‘lone gunman’ or angry gun owner targeting someone he hates. It is imperative to consider that the San Bernadino attack took place at the Inland Regional Center which is a company that helps disabled people improve their lives by training them, offering them self-improvement programs and counseling. Lone gunmen do not shoot building full of disabled people.
Apparently, the shooting is a clear representation of terrorist attack, and it can be traced to ISIS. Sources suspect Syed Rizwan Farook for the shooting. The San Bernadino attacks and the Paris attack, a similar kind of terrorist attack represent terror off the internet. In the case of the Paris attack that took place on November 13, 2015, up to 130 people were killed and hundreds of people were injured. Interestingly, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks (CNN, 2015). Faiola & Mekhennet (2015) revealed that the Paris attacks were carried out by three groups tied to a Islamic state. Remarkably, ISIS claim that it is responsible for these terrorist activities and much more showing the level and exposure of the terrorist in the world today. The internet appears to be an incredibly took in the hands of these terrorists as it presents a ground for easy takeoff and communication. As a matter of fact, with the advancement in the internet today, terrorists have shifted their attack base to the internet as it allows them to gain access to important information that could be used in terrorizing lots of people in their target region.
A Question of Privacy, Security, and the Internet
Privacy is obviously a fundamental human right in every democratic society, and the United States of America is not exempted. The Snowden's saga and revelations show a great breach of privacy not only on the U.S citizen but also on citizens of other countries and both friends and foes of the United States. Moreover, a lot of furor has been raised by this revelation as it calls into question the right of privacy and fundamental human right which the United States is known to uphold. However, in the light of the immense terrorist activities going on in the world today, one might be led to take a side with the United States in their surveillance activities.
According to Kaplan (2009), terrorists employ most of the internet basically for communication with each other and with the rest of the world. Interestingly, virtually every terrorist activity can be traced to some form of digital communication. A good example of this claim is the Paris attack. The Economist (2015) asserted that the final text message from one of the Paris attackers read ‘we're off, we're starting.' This text message was found on a mobile phone dumped in a bin near the Bataclan Theater where the shooting took place and of course, it provided a lead to the armed police in tracing the presumed mastermind, Abdelhamid Abaaound, even though this lead came late. However, the real question raised by these series of event is: ‘should encryption which scrambles data be regulated?’ Interestingly, Europeans are once again weighing the balance between security and privacy (The Economist, 2015).
However, the balance between security and privacy has a very complicated relationship. According to The Economist (2015) tech companies and privacy campaigners strongly oppose the idea of forcing companies to weaken their encryption software. The America’s Information Technology Industry Council, representing tech giants like Apple and Microsoft, pointed out that weakening encryption software in order to aid the fight against terrorism simply implies weakening security with the aim of advancing security and it does not really make sense. This is because it would go a long way in compromising the security of the banking system and also the electrical grid. Moreover, cyber criminals would easily have their way if encryption technologies are weakened.
Noticeably, the United States surveillance programs spearheaded by the NSA sound meaningful in the light of these terrors. Moreover, it shows the activities of the U.S government to stay ahead of the immense terrorist activities and remain a giant. Of course, privacy and encryption are very vital and important in the twenty-first-century human security but in the light of the terror of the present time, it is very vital to reconsider the place of anonymity and privacy. After the Paris attacks, it is reasonable for democratic societies to ask whether the right to remain anonymous should remain near absolute. The implication of this is that Europeans would have to give up some of their anonymity in order to preserve the liberty and security provided that there is proper democratic oversight of those handling the data (The Economist, 2015).
Conclusion
Terror, security and the internet all have remarkable connections. The internet is not only a source of great prospects, relationship and business activities today, it is also a major avenue for terror today. Digital communication is leveraged by terrorists across the globe for effective terrorism. The San Bernardino and Paris attacks are good examples of such menaces. This raises the question of balancing security and privacy. Should encryption standard be weakened? Should Europeans give up their anonymity to ensure security and lots more? Both privacy and security are important and of course loosening of encryption standards would even put security into more jeopardy. However, to really ensure security, it would be necessary to give up some of the rights to be anonymous provided that there would be a proper democratic oversight of those handling the data. This does not only apply to Europeans but every democratic society.
References
Adam, M. (2015). San Bernardino shooting has all the signs of a staged government operation or ISIS terror attack (from what we know so far). Natural News. Retrieved 6 March 2016, from http://www.naturalnews.com/052180_San_Bernardino_shooting_ISIS_terrorism_government_operation.html
CNN. (2015). 2015 Paris Terror Attacks. CNN. Retrieved 6 March 2016, from http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/08/europe/2015-paris-terror-attacks-fast-facts/
Faiola, A., & Mekhennet, S. (2015). Paris attacks were carried out by three groups tied to Islamic State, official says. Washington Post. Retrieved 6 March 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/string-of-paris-terrorist-attacks-leaves-over-120-dead/2015/11/14/066df55c-8a73-11e5-bd91-d385b244482f_story.html
Kaplan, E. (2009). Terrorists and the Internet. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 6 March 2016, from http://www.cfr.org/terrorism-and-technology/terrorists-internet/p10005#p7
Kelley, M. (2014). Edward Snowden's Relationship With WikiLeaks Should Concern Everyone. Business Insider. Retrieved 6 March 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/edward-snowden-and-wikileaks-2014-1
Lessig, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace 36. (1999). Retrieved 6 March 2016, from https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/privacy/Encryption_Description.html
Shah, A. (2013). Surveillance State: NSA Spying and more- Global Issues. Globalissues.org. Retrieved 6 March 2016, from http://www.globalissues.org/article/802/surveillance-state
The Economist. (2015). The terrorist in the data. The Economist. Retrieved 6 March 2016, from http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21679266-how-balance-security-privacy-after-paris-attacks-terrorist-data
