The
Internet Society (ISOC) has called for strong encryption, describing it as an
essential for future digital economy, reports ITRealms.
ISOC
in its submission to the Group of 20 (G20) discussions wrap-up in Düsseldorf,
Germany on Digital Economy Declaration, outlined a path for a strong digital
future.
According
to ISOC President and CEO, Kathy Brown, the current level of interconnection
will only boost the market, where there is secure and trusted environment.
This,
she said, cannot happen without a serious commitment by all parties to security
and privacy.
Strong
encryption, Brown noted, is an essential piece to the future of the world’s
economy and the Internet Society believes it should be the norm for all online
transactions.
“It
allows us to do our banking, conduct local and global business, run our power
grids, operate, communications networks, and do almost everything else,” she
said.
ISOC
president also said that encryption is a technical building block for securing
infrastructure, communications and information; hence, it should be made
stronger and universal, not weaker.
She lamented that
rather than being recognized as the way to secure online transactions or
conversations, all too often the debate focuses on the use of encryption as a
way to thwart law enforcement.
“To undermine the positive role of encryption in the name of
security could have devastating consequences,” she insisted.
Many great
minds, ISOC chief pointed out, have already devoted considerable effort to
resolving the conundrum posed by competing public policy objectives: providing
security, safety and trust on the one hand, and law enforcement and legitimate
policy goals on the other.
“But, it is time to stop kicking the encryption football up and
down the field. Instead, we should recognize that encryption is key to the
future digital economy and stop treating it as simply an obstacle to law
enforcement. We need to deconstruct the issues faced by law enforcement and
policy makers and agree together how we can achieve a trusted digital economy
underpinned by encryption,” Ms Brown said.
ITRealms reports that this was the first time the G20 countries held a
Ministerial on digital matters and also the first time that G20 is inviting
non-government stakeholders to contribute to these issues.
Describing it as turning point that should not be missed, ISOC
president emphasized that all views, including the technical perspective, must
be at the table if the global community is to achieve progress on the G20’s Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) goals.
“If the G20
countries are serious about strengthening their economies and continuing to
deliver economic and social prosperity to their citizens in future, there are
three key principles they should endorse and implement immediately,” she
outlined.
These, Brown said, include that encryption is an
important technical foundation for trust in the digital economy and should be
the norm. Stressing that
all users whether government, business or individual should use
encryption to protect infrastructure, communications and the privacy and
integrity of their data.
“Encryption technologies should be strengthened, not weakened,”
ISOC president asserted.
Secondly, she said, is the fact that security of the digital economy is a shared responsibility that needs the expertise and experience of all stakeholders, across border and across disciplines.
Secondly, she said, is the fact that security of the digital economy is a shared responsibility that needs the expertise and experience of all stakeholders, across border and across disciplines.
“It is an urgent need that will require open, inclusive
collaboration,” she said.
Thirdly, the ISOC chief executive said that users’ rights should be at the heart of any decisions related to the digital economy, because both the customers and contributors to the success of the digital economy, has to be involved.
Thirdly, the ISOC chief executive said that users’ rights should be at the heart of any decisions related to the digital economy, because both the customers and contributors to the success of the digital economy, has to be involved.
Therefore, she said, Internet Society called for ubiquitous encryption
for the Internet.
“We strongly
believe that this is the best foundation for trust in the digital economy, and
we urge the G20 nations to stand behind encryption,” ISOC maintained.
ITRealms gathered that currently, there
are estimated 360 million people that take part in cross-border
e-commerce, with some 28 per cent of output in mature economies is digital. The Internet is thus set
to contribute $6.6 trillion a year, or 7.1 per cent of the total GDP in the G20
countries.
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