4 October 2007

ISSE weighs privacy against internet security

Eleanor Dallaway in Warsaw

Law of the land: the conference discussed tensions
between privacy and security

Finding the right balance between internet security and privacy is becoming increasingly hard when addressing cyber terrorism, experts at last week’s annual ISSE conference argued.

Technology is not the only issue when fighting cybercrime and terrorism, said Murdoch Watney of the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, at the conference in Warsaw. When securing the internet against crime, the legal system and the right to privacy are compromised. “But is this price too high to pay?” Watney asked.

“Governments today realise the power of the internet and although this enthusiasm may have been tempered by an increase in crime, they realise that the advantages of the internet outweigh the disadvantages,” she said. However, it has been argued that the measures needed to secure the internet in combating terrorism and crime will compromise the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy.

“Today, privacy is no longer simple,” said Yves Le Roux, technology strategist for CA. “Global privacy laws and policies complicate things.”

Watney said it is a matter of debate as to whether governmental internet control by means of surveillance methods such as interception, monitoring, data retention or data preservation and decryption provide the solution to cyber terrorism and crime, or whether governments need to go even further and apply ultra-state regulation in the form of censorship.

“Even though globally most legal systems recognise an individual’s right to internet privacy, it is not always easy to reach consensus regarding the required global uniform laws to address crime and terrorism on the internet,” she said. International harmonisation of laws is therefore required to address cybercrime effectively and successfully.

“The EU has general legislation in place that guarantees privacy protection against governmental and commercial intrusion. The view in the US, however, is that the rights of government must be limited, and the emphasis has been on self-regulation with the implementation of sector specific legislation to deal with privacy violation,” Watney said, adding that the American constitution does not explicitly mention the right to privacy.

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