You’ve probably been told if you see a crime or suspicious activity going on, call your local authorities. Think of the see something, say something campaign. But you can always be assured you and your information will be confidential, right? Well…
Maybe confidentiality isn’t so protected, especially if it’s done online. An investigation by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) revealed any information reporting crime, corruption, or cyber misbehavior can easily be intercepted by hackers. Even the whistle blower’s personal information is at risked of being intercepted. The problem is such sites don’t use the kind of encryption technology now used for privacy protection online. There is a push by privacy rights advocates and federal government officials, like federal chief information officer Tony Scott, to have better encryption on all government websites. This concern is shared by IG’s (Inspector Generals). Inspector Generals are internal watchdogs watching federal agencies. An ACLU tech named Christopher?Soghoian says, “Whistle blowers put their careers and live on the line when they report to IGs. That process needs to be secure as possible.”
Perhaps even scarier is that it’s not just hackers and cyber crooks and bullies intercepting confidential information. Sometimes it’s the federal agencies themselves. This is why we needed better encryption and better protection…yesterday! It’s a shame when a whistle blower, or a concerned citizen can’t even stop the bad guys because poor security could lead to possible retaliation. We must do better, even if it’s for no other reason than protect IGs. Is it going to take an unfortunate incident by a cyber sociopath for this to change? I hope not. And the ACLU being just as concerned about inside interceptions opens up another can of concerns. If private businesses, charities and other organizations can get this critical protection, then why can’t anti-crime agencies? If such agencies are doing the interceptions, then the cynic in me asks, do they even want to fix to fix this issue?