The Internet Society believes that encryption should be the norm for Internet traffic and that this is an important additional step of ongoing efforts by the technical community to address the important issue of pervasive monitoring. Please see the following statements:
- Statement by the Internet Society Board of Trustees – 15 November 2014
- IAB Statement on Internet Confidentiality – 14 November 2014
Both of these were issued in response to the IETF’s RFC 7258 stating that pervasive monitoring represents an attack against the Internet. Both statements also recognize that implementing this aspiration of pervasive encryption raises some practical issues and technical challenges. In addition to network management, intrusion detection, and spam prevention, we expect there will be economic and policy challenges. Still, our end goal is an Internet where traffic is confidential by default.
To learn more about the ongoing discussion on encryption, you may want to begin by watching the video recording of our May 25, 2016, event:
Beyond the statements referenced above, we have also issued the following statements, comments or reports:
- Securing Our Digital Economy – April 2017
- Report: IGF 2015 Workshop – Law enforcement in a world of pervasive encryption – November 2015
- Internet Society submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Protection and Promotion of the Right to Freedom of Expression and Opinion regarding the use of encryption and anonymity in digital communications – 10 February 2015
- Internet Society Responds to Reports of the U.S. Government’s Circumvention of Encryption Technology – 9 September 2013
We have also published Public Policy Briefing on Encryption, available in English, French and Spanish:
- Policy Brief: Encryption – 9 June 2016
- Briefing sur les affaires publiques: Cryptage – 9 June 2016
- Un informe de la política pública: Cifrado – 9 June 2016
- Policy Brief Slides: Encryption – 4 November 2016
We support projects that increase the use and deployment of encryption across the Internet, including:
Additionally, the W3C has issued the following findings that we find helpful:
- Securing the Web – 22 January 2015
- End-to-End Encryption and the Web – 16 July 2015
InternetNZ has published two papers on encryption:
- Discussion starter: Encryption: what it is and why it’s important
- Position paper: Encryption: ways forward that protect the Internet’s potential
The World Information Technology And Services Alliance (WITSA) also issued this statement:
- Global ICT Industry Opposes Backdoor Decryption – 8 March 2016
- Speech by WITSA Chairman, Santiago Gutierrez – “Navigating Privacy and Security” – 8 March 2016
Finally, our Greater Washington, DC, Chapter (ISOC-DC) created this video to explain encryption issues:
We believe that encryption plays a vital role in increasing the overall trust in the Internet. Please join us in helping make pervasive encryption a reality!
