Risking it All: Unlocking the Backdoor to the Nation's Cybersecurity

Abstract

This paper addresses government policies that can influence commercial practices to weaken security in products and services sold on the commercial market. The debate on information surveillance for national security must include consideration of the potential cybersecurity risks and economic implications of the information collection strategies employed. As IEEE-USA, we write to comment on current discussions with respect to weakening standards, or altering commercial products and services for intelligence, or law enforcement. Any policy that seeks to weaken technology sold on the commercial market has many serious downsides, even if it temporarily advances the intelligence and law enforcement missions of facilitating legal and authorized government surveillance.

Keywords: cybersecurity, surveillance, standards, back door, intelligence, law enforcement, policy