Encryption is it key to protect your rights. As part of the Global Encryption Coalition, APC is joining efforts to secure encryption by promoting the switch to encrypted platforms and pushing governments and corporations to abandon plans that will weaken encryption.
Here are a few highlights on what encryption is and why it matters that you can share with your networks.
What is encryption?
Encryption is the process of making a message or a file unreadable except for the people who have the key or password to decrypt it #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
Encryption is one of the best techniques that we have to protect information from interference, both in transit (when travelling through the internet) and at rest (in our devices, email, etc) #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
When used correctly, encryption is virtually impossible to break with current technologies #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
What is end-to-end encryption?
End-to-end encryption protects messages in transit all the way from sender to receiver, even when travelling using a public network like the internet #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
End-to-end encryption ensures that information is turned into a secret message by its original sender and decoded only by its final recipient, so that no one can access your activity #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
Encryption at rest
You can easily encrypt data stored in your hard disk, portable devices and backup storage. So even if your computer is seized, its data is not accessible unless they have the secret passphrase #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
Backdoors exist...
Encryption systems are so good (and freely available) that some governments and organisations insert “backdoors” into them to have unlimited access to seemingly secured info #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
Through "backdoors", malicious agents can gain access to personal communications. This can lead to journalists’ sources being revealed, human rights defenders and their networks being targeted by governments, or a person in an abusive relationship being blackmailed #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
Encryption is key to human rights
Encryption helps create a privacy zone to protect opinion and belief. It is key to the enjoyment of human rights, including the freedoms of opinion, expression and association, the press and the right to privacy #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
According to human rights bodies such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the right to freedom of expression is not a concession by states but a fundamental right GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
Freedom of expression is a fundamental right. However, we continue to see an increase in criminalisation of security experts, such as renowned digital rights expert Ola Bini in Ecuador https://www.apc.org/en/node/37080/ #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
Encryption and gender
Women and people of diverse gender and sexual expressions are especially vulnerable to violations of privacy #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
Women’s right to privacy implies the ability to benefit from encryption and anonymity to minimise the risk of interference with privacy #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
Encryption is key for human rights defenders and women trying to obtain information otherwise considered taboo in their societies, as the 2017 report on Promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the internet highlights: https://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/35/9 #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
What is the role of states and corporations?
Many states and companies implement measures to weaken encryption tools by demanding that they include “backdoors”. They do this through laws and other measures, enabling them to access private communications #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
Governments shouldn’t render people unable to secure their communications in a free society. Companies that do not disclose these spy mechanisms enable such exploitation #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
As the UN has declared, states should not interfere with the use of encryption and should provide comprehensive protection for the use and development of encryption tools. Companies should work towards enabling such technologies #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch
It is your right to demand that your communications are secure and free of interference #GlobalEncryptionDay #MaketheSwitch