Wednesday, January 29, 2014

How the NSA Almost Killed the Internet

From Wired.




A skull which is also an ampersand: the monthly reference magazine of new technologies has selected a visual shocker.

In a major survey, the magazine tells how the revelations about the National Security Agency ( NSA) have shaken the giants in the technology sector: Google, Facebook, Microsoft and others. NSA programs using data stored by these companies threaten the very foundation of their activity: trust placed in them by users .

But the biggest fear of the sector is that the revelations based on Edward Snowden documents will involve a movement of " balkanization " of the web. Indeed, some countries are tempted to store the personal data of citizens in their own territory , free from intrusions of the NSA. This has an economic advantage: nationals are forced to use local technology services. And a political appeal : it is easier to spy on its own citizens. Malaysia has recently passed a law to that effect . Brazil and India are considering measures of " data protectionism ." This type of system is even mentioned in Germany.

If this trend is confirmed, it could "destroy the open nature of the web" , creating "dozens of independent Internet that do not communicate with each other ," says the magazine. It is "the future of the Internet " that is at stake.

The article here.

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