by Daniel J. Solove
In a recent report (link no longer available), MIT security experts critiqued calls by government law enforcement for backdoor access to encrypted information. As the experts aptly stated:
“Political and law enforcement leaders in the United States and the United Kingdom have called for Internet systems to be redesigned to ensure government access to information — even encrypted information. They argue that the growing use of encryption will neutralize their investigative capabilities. They propose that data storage and communications systems must be designed for exceptional access by law enforcement agencies. These proposals are unworkable in practice, raise enormous legal and ethical questions, and would undo progress on security at a time when Internet vulnerabilities are causing extreme economic harm.”
The report is called Keys Under Doormats: Mandating Insecurity by Requiring Government Access to all Data and Communications and is by Harold Abelson, Ross Anderson, Steven M. Bellovin, Josh Benaloh, Matt Blaze, Whitfield Diffie, John Gilmore, Matthew Green, Susan Landau, Peter G. Neumann, Ronald L. Rivest, Jeffrey I. Schiller, Bruce Schneier, Michael Specter, and Daniel J. Weitzner.
by Daniel J. Solove
The protagonist is Elliot Alderson (played by Rami Malek), a tech who works at a cybersecurity firm in New York City. The show is narrated with voiceover by Elliot, and we get a glimpse into the mind of this reclusive and quiet person. Voiceover can often falter as a technique, but here it works wonderfully — and all the more impressive because Elliot speaks softly, often in monotone. But Elliot is such a fascinating character and Malek delivers Elliot’s monologue so effectively, that it becomes surprisingly engaging.
