Privacy advocates have decided it is time for Internet users to take more serious measures to resist surveillance from National Security Agency and other alleged spy groups.
The movement for users and developers to deploy newer and better security and privacy tools was introduced by Fight for the Future and has support from over 30 groups including Reddit, Imgur, Free Press, Libertarian Party and Demand Progress. June 5, the one year anniversary of the first news stories on Edward Snowden’s leaks about NSA surveillance, is the date ‘Reset the Net’ will initiate.
In the last year, Snowden’s NSA leaks have brought countless privacy issues into the limelight and instigated a heavy load of international controversy. Snowden let the world know the NSA’s mission was to be aware of every conversation occurring anywhere, globally. These revelations have heightened the worldwide conversation surrounding privacy and internet security.
“Don’t ask for your privacy. Take it back,” the Reset the Net website urges.
In a video broadcasted on YouTube, Fight for the Future claims governments are building a “prison” around the Internet, but that it is possible to take it down brick by brick.
“Government spies have a weakness,” the clip said. “They can hack anybody, but they can’t hack everybody. Folks like the NSA depend on collecting insecure data from tapped fiber. They depend on our mistakes—mistakes we can fix.”
The call to action is for Internet users and developers to use “powerful tools that make mass spying much more difficult,” including HTTPS, HTTP Strict Transport Security, and Perfect Forward Secrecy, a cryptography tool. Fight for the Future aims for June 5 to be a day where people and organizations worldwide deploy new privacy tools and stronger security measures and “take back” the internet.
“The NSA is exploiting weak links in Internet security to spy on the entire world,” the clip accused. “We can’t stop targeted attacks, but we can stop mass surveillance by building proven security into the everyday Internet.”
Although vilified by many, the U.S. Government and NSA have defended their use of the reported $52.6 billion ‘Black Budget.’ This money covers over a dozen agencies that together make up the National Intelligence Program. Authorities claim that the alleged surveillance, counterintelligence and covert action are all part of the big picture to target terrorists and protect national security.