In the fourth installment of the FOC Working Group 1 (WG1) blog series, Mallory Knodel reflects on the link between cybersecurity and internet protocol engineering at the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The FOC WG 1 blog series aims to explore in depth the existence, relevance, and status of various spaces where cyber security issues are being discussed and share this information with a broader community.
In a human rights-based understanding of cybersecurity – in which user and network security merit equal consideration – confidentiality, privacy and anonymity become essential parts of what it means to be secure in cyberspace. In this context, internet user’s right to privacy must be protected at many levels. One of the obvious levels is at the lower layers of the internet itself, which for internet policy advocates may appear opaque due to the highly technical nature of the discussion and advocacy work that is required. This post explains why protocol engineering and standardization are important discussions for civil society to take part in to advocate for internet rights, particularly user privacy. The post also elucidates the main space where multi-stakeholder protocol engineering takes place – the IETF, where these discussions are currently taking place.
Read more:
https://www.freedomonlinecoalition.com/how-we-work/working-groups/working-group-1/wg-1-blog-4-ietf