EFF: Half of web traffic is now encrypted
Half of the web’s traffic is now encrypted, according to a new report from the EFF released this week. The rights organization noted the milestone
was attributable to a number of efforts, including recent moves from major tech
companies to implement HTTPS on their own properties. Over the years, these efforts have included
pushes from Facebook and Twitter, back in 2013 and 2012 respectively, as well as
those from other sizable sites like Google, Wikipedia, Bing, Reddit and more.
Google played a significant role, having put pressure on
websites to adopt HTTPS by beginning to use HTTPS as a signal in its search ranking algorithms. This year, it also ramped up the push towards
HTTPS by marking websites that use HTTP connections for transmitting
passwords and credit data as insecure.
“In order to protect your privacy, we had to destroy it.” Why does that sound so familiar?
Sean D. Carberry reports:
The Department of Commerce has
long granted confidentiality to people who submit sensitive survey data about
international investments or foreign transactions. But Commerce is now revising its
confidentiality agreements because of Einstein.
Einstein, the Department of
Homeland Security’s comprehensive system of preventing and mitigating cyber
threats to federal civilian networks, scans electronic traffic in and out of
agencies like the Commerce Department. As a result, it could capture a survey email
sent to Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis if that email contains malware
or other threat indicators.
“Because it is possible that such
packets entering or leaving BEA’s information system may contain a small
portion of confidential statistical data, it can no
longer promise its respondents that their responses will be seen only by BEA
personnel or its sworn agents,” states the Federal
Register announcement that Commerce is revising its confidentiality
language.
Read more on FCW.
Does being pro-tech automatically
challenge President Trump? At least we
have an opposite to compare US policy to.
Shedding Soviet history, Estonia aims to be world’s most
pro-tech nation
… The Estonian ecosystem has been
carefully cultivated by a government that has itself radically embraced the
future to reinvent its relationship with its citizens.
… Country as a
Platform
On a frozen evening in Helsinki, Finland, Estonian
president Kersti Kaljulaid arrived to represent her country’s most ambitious
startup: its
government.
Under its sweeping
e-Estonia initiative, the government has become an incubator for programs
pioneering advances in digital citizenship, security, virtual business, and
education.
… Kaljulaid took
to the stage to discuss the progress the country has made with its e-Estonia
initiatives, particularly its e-Residency
program.
The
residency program allows anyone to become an official resident of Estonia
without having to move there. E-Residents are given an identification card
with a chip that uses 2048-bit public key encryption. With that digital ID, they can access
government services to set up a company or open a bank account in Estonia
without ever needing to actually visit.
… Earlier this
month, the Estonian government announced the creation of Startup Visa, its latest program to
build a bridge to the rest of the world.
Whether it’s someone wanting to move their startup to
Estonia or someone who wants to come work for an Estonian startup, the
government has dramatically streamlined the application process. People from outside the European Union can
apply for visas for anywhere from one to a given number of years in length.
… “I don’t think
tanks would be rolling in tomorrow,” said Teleport’s Tamkivi. “But our friendship circles now are global,
and we’re very reliant on being part of a global community.”
He added: “Of course, if something does happen, we could
go somewhere else and hold parliamentary elections. We have
our entire state backed up in the cloud. Estonia wouldn’t just disappear again.”
An interesting background read.
Inside Facebook’s AI Machine
… Last month,
Candela addressed an audience of engineers at a New York City conference. “I’m going to make a strong statement,” he
warned them. “Facebook today cannot exist without AI. Every time you use Facebook or Instagram or
Messenger, you may not realize it, but your experiences are being powered by
AI.”
No comments:
Post a Comment