This report from the Citizen lab is a useful and concise reference for us to use in the upcoming discussions on WHOIS recalibration. Members of the list may be interested in responding to Ron's invitation to help improve the appendix. Kind regards, Stephanie Perrin -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: [bestbits] Fwd: Joint submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2015 19:40:34 -0500 From: Carolina Rossini <[log in to unmask]> Reply-To: Carolina Rossini <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]> <[log in to unmask]> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Ronald Deibert" <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> Date: Feb 10, 2015 7:39 PM Subject: Joint submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression To: <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> Cc: *Joint submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression * February 10, 2015 In response to the call for submissions of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression regarding the use of encryption and anonymity in digital communications, the Citizen Lab and independent researcher Collin Anderson have submitted a joint analysis, entitled “The need for democratization of digital security solutions to ensure the right to freedom of expression.” The submission explores the essential role of digital security tools, particularly encryption and anonymity software, in protecting the rights to freedom of expression and privacy of civil society actors, many of which are subject to politically-motivated digital surveillance and censorship. As an Appendix to our analysis, we include a chart on the relationship between civil society requirements for effective and secure digital communications, and the use of encryption or anonymity tools. This table is not exhaustive and should be considered a first attempt at elaborating on the types of information security risks posed to freedom of expression and privacy. Properly implemented and non-backdoored encryption can reduce exposure to certain forms of mass surveillance and provide users the opportunity to remain in control of their information despite efforts to compromise it, including interception and hacking. However, this analysis also demonstrates that encryption is not a panacea for the diversity of physical and digital threats that at-risk individuals face on a daily basis. We look forward to further developing this resource and encourage members of the technical community, civil society, journalists, and others to critique the form and content of the Appendix. The full submission can be found at the following link: https://citizenlab.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SR-FOE-submission.pdf [PDF} Ronald Deibert Director, the Citizen Lab and the Canada Centre for Global Security Studies Munk School of Global Affairs University of Toronto (416) 946-8916 <tel:%28416%29%20946-8916> PGP: http://deibert.citizenlab.org/pubkey.txt http://deibert.citizenlab.org/ twitter.com/citizenlab <http://twitter.com/citizenlab> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>