Edward Snowden spoke via webcast to a meeting of the Internet Engineers Task Force (IETF) on Monday. (Photo: CyberHades/flickr/cc)
Snowden's Plea to Top Technologists: Build an Internet for the People
'Everybody should be safe all the time, else we let others choose who will be safe or not,' whistleblower tells meeting of independent internet engineers
The internet is not for businesses, governments, or spies. It's for users--and it's up to the independent web engineers to keep it safe for them.
That was the most recent message from National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden, who surprised a meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in Prague, Czech Republic on Monday with a webcast Q&A.
"Who is the Internet for, who does it serve, who is the IETF's ultimate customer?" Snowden asked of the roughly 170 engineers in the audience, referring to users. He added that current safety protocols on the web make too much private user data available to NSA and other intelligence agencies and businesses. "We need to divorce identity from persona in a lasting way," Snowden said.
The IETF is one of the primary bodies creating voluntary standards of use, design and management of the internet, and Monday's meeting gave Snowden a welcome platform to promote a freer and safer web.
As the Register UK reports, IETF members "have a strong independent streak, and many are still embarrassed by the fact that the NSA managed to crack a number of key internet protocols developed by the IETF and even subvert some of its working groups in their bid to develop new standards that would give the spooks easy access."
Snowden's 2013 revelations that the NSA was collecting bulk telephone and internet metadata prompted an ongoing global debate over the role of government surveillance and the nature of individual privacy--a phenomenon termed by media critic Jay Rosen as "the Snowden Effect." For its part, the IETF responded to the leaks by developing a memorandum, known as a Request for Comment (RFC), entitled "Pervasive Monitoring is an Attack."
In his Q&A with the engineers on Monday, Snowden reiterated the dangers of invasive collection of information. "People are being killed based on metadata, this is real," he said.
The webcast came after IETF members screened the documentary Citizenfour, which chronicles Snowden's 2013 leak of NSA files and his experience living in exile. While the session was not recorded, many attendees tweeted out some of Snowden's key points during the address, including the need for reduced "middleboxes," or networking devices that filter internet traffic on its way to its final destination.
"Every middlebox is an increased attack surface," Snowden said. "The NSA will want to subvert internet security, this is what they do."
The Register continues:
He also argued that having identifiable "long lasting" hardware addresses was "extremely dangerous," as it connects people to, say, a MAC address when they use wireless internet connections, which can put an immediate flag on their identity and location.
Snowden connected the role of internet engineers to the fight for civil liberties and the essential right to privacy. "It is our duty to pass on the human rights we have inherited," Snowden said. "Technologists are at the vanguard of that."
"We need not only to think what the problems are today, but how we preserve the internet for the future," he continued. "Everybody should be safe all the time, else we let others choose who will be safe or not."
Snowden's speech was met with a standing ovation. As one attendee wrote during the session, "Before, I was impressed by the courage and what Snowden did. Hearing his thoughtful detailed Q&A, I am overwhelmed [by] his intelligence."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. The final deadline for our crucial Summer Campaign fundraising drive is just days away, and we’re falling short of our must-hit goal. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The internet is not for businesses, governments, or spies. It's for users--and it's up to the independent web engineers to keep it safe for them.
That was the most recent message from National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden, who surprised a meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in Prague, Czech Republic on Monday with a webcast Q&A.
"Who is the Internet for, who does it serve, who is the IETF's ultimate customer?" Snowden asked of the roughly 170 engineers in the audience, referring to users. He added that current safety protocols on the web make too much private user data available to NSA and other intelligence agencies and businesses. "We need to divorce identity from persona in a lasting way," Snowden said.
The IETF is one of the primary bodies creating voluntary standards of use, design and management of the internet, and Monday's meeting gave Snowden a welcome platform to promote a freer and safer web.
As the Register UK reports, IETF members "have a strong independent streak, and many are still embarrassed by the fact that the NSA managed to crack a number of key internet protocols developed by the IETF and even subvert some of its working groups in their bid to develop new standards that would give the spooks easy access."
Snowden's 2013 revelations that the NSA was collecting bulk telephone and internet metadata prompted an ongoing global debate over the role of government surveillance and the nature of individual privacy--a phenomenon termed by media critic Jay Rosen as "the Snowden Effect." For its part, the IETF responded to the leaks by developing a memorandum, known as a Request for Comment (RFC), entitled "Pervasive Monitoring is an Attack."
In his Q&A with the engineers on Monday, Snowden reiterated the dangers of invasive collection of information. "People are being killed based on metadata, this is real," he said.
The webcast came after IETF members screened the documentary Citizenfour, which chronicles Snowden's 2013 leak of NSA files and his experience living in exile. While the session was not recorded, many attendees tweeted out some of Snowden's key points during the address, including the need for reduced "middleboxes," or networking devices that filter internet traffic on its way to its final destination.
"Every middlebox is an increased attack surface," Snowden said. "The NSA will want to subvert internet security, this is what they do."
The Register continues:
He also argued that having identifiable "long lasting" hardware addresses was "extremely dangerous," as it connects people to, say, a MAC address when they use wireless internet connections, which can put an immediate flag on their identity and location.
Snowden connected the role of internet engineers to the fight for civil liberties and the essential right to privacy. "It is our duty to pass on the human rights we have inherited," Snowden said. "Technologists are at the vanguard of that."
"We need not only to think what the problems are today, but how we preserve the internet for the future," he continued. "Everybody should be safe all the time, else we let others choose who will be safe or not."
Snowden's speech was met with a standing ovation. As one attendee wrote during the session, "Before, I was impressed by the courage and what Snowden did. Hearing his thoughtful detailed Q&A, I am overwhelmed [by] his intelligence."
The internet is not for businesses, governments, or spies. It's for users--and it's up to the independent web engineers to keep it safe for them.
That was the most recent message from National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden, who surprised a meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in Prague, Czech Republic on Monday with a webcast Q&A.
"Who is the Internet for, who does it serve, who is the IETF's ultimate customer?" Snowden asked of the roughly 170 engineers in the audience, referring to users. He added that current safety protocols on the web make too much private user data available to NSA and other intelligence agencies and businesses. "We need to divorce identity from persona in a lasting way," Snowden said.
The IETF is one of the primary bodies creating voluntary standards of use, design and management of the internet, and Monday's meeting gave Snowden a welcome platform to promote a freer and safer web.
As the Register UK reports, IETF members "have a strong independent streak, and many are still embarrassed by the fact that the NSA managed to crack a number of key internet protocols developed by the IETF and even subvert some of its working groups in their bid to develop new standards that would give the spooks easy access."
Snowden's 2013 revelations that the NSA was collecting bulk telephone and internet metadata prompted an ongoing global debate over the role of government surveillance and the nature of individual privacy--a phenomenon termed by media critic Jay Rosen as "the Snowden Effect." For its part, the IETF responded to the leaks by developing a memorandum, known as a Request for Comment (RFC), entitled "Pervasive Monitoring is an Attack."
In his Q&A with the engineers on Monday, Snowden reiterated the dangers of invasive collection of information. "People are being killed based on metadata, this is real," he said.
The webcast came after IETF members screened the documentary Citizenfour, which chronicles Snowden's 2013 leak of NSA files and his experience living in exile. While the session was not recorded, many attendees tweeted out some of Snowden's key points during the address, including the need for reduced "middleboxes," or networking devices that filter internet traffic on its way to its final destination.
"Every middlebox is an increased attack surface," Snowden said. "The NSA will want to subvert internet security, this is what they do."
The Register continues:
He also argued that having identifiable "long lasting" hardware addresses was "extremely dangerous," as it connects people to, say, a MAC address when they use wireless internet connections, which can put an immediate flag on their identity and location.
Snowden connected the role of internet engineers to the fight for civil liberties and the essential right to privacy. "It is our duty to pass on the human rights we have inherited," Snowden said. "Technologists are at the vanguard of that."
"We need not only to think what the problems are today, but how we preserve the internet for the future," he continued. "Everybody should be safe all the time, else we let others choose who will be safe or not."
Snowden's speech was met with a standing ovation. As one attendee wrote during the session, "Before, I was impressed by the courage and what Snowden did. Hearing his thoughtful detailed Q&A, I am overwhelmed [by] his intelligence."