NSA Reform Falls Short of Tech Expectations

[unhappycamper]

http://www.techzone360.com/topics/techzone/articles/2014/01/21/367403-nsa-reform-falls-short-tech-expectations.htm

NSA Reform Falls Short of Tech Expectations
By TMCnet Special Guest
Vineet Jain
January 21, 2014

~snip~

1.) What are they going to do about the PRISM and MUSCULAR programs?

The PRISM program has allowed the government to subpoena data regarding internet communications from major companies including Google, Yahoo, and Apple since 2007. One step further, the MUSCULAR program actually intercepts data being relayed from companies to data warehouses all over the world. Since these are two of the most seemingly invasive programs controlled by the NSA, I was expecting to hear some amendments or at least a call for more transparency. However, there was little to no mention of these programs, and it will be one of the hot topics as the industry moves forward.

2.) Who will store all the metadata?

While the President made a call for the U.S. government to no longer house the metadata that is collected, there was no suggestion as to who will store that data. Accessing the data through internet companies would be a major red flag for privacy, and creating a new organization would be a bit of a legal mess that would take entirely too long. It will be interesting to see what they ultimately decide here.

3.) Will there be more transparency when the government serves U.S. companies with “special” subpoenas asking for their customers’ information?

National Security Letters (NSLs) have been used by the FBI to ask companies to turn over their customers’ data. These letters constitute a special kind of administrative subpoena that don’t require the FBI to get judicial approval before it’s issued. These letters carry gag orders that force recipients to not disclose their existence, not even to the target whose data is being requested, even after years of the letter being issued. While the President did endorse more transparency here, he did not make any call to action for change to the very secretive process. One beacon of hope though was the experts on the review panel suggesting to reform the law to require a judge's approval for every NSL.

Although I do not feel there were any significant leaps or bounds promised throughout the President’s nearly 45-minute address, I was excited about one of his proposals. Toward the end, he spoke about the potential formation of a panel of public advocates to weigh in on these sensitive privacy matters. Given the dullness of the actions that will result from the President’s speech, this is one bright spot that will at least give “us” a seat at the table to extend the dialog.