Mass surveillance and technological policy options: Improving security of private communications

The 2013 Snowden revelations ignited a vehement debate on the legitimacy and breadth of intelligence operations that monitor the Internet and telecommunications worldwide. The ongoing invasion of the private sphere of individuals around the world by governments and companies is an issue that is handled inadequately using current technological and organizational measures. This article11This article is based on research carried out at the request of the Science and Technology Option Assessment Panel (STOA) and the Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) of the European Parliament [11,9]. Its scope is therefore primarily European, however its implications are assumed to be generally applicable. argues that in order to retain a vital and vibrant Internet, its basic infrastructure needs to be strengthened considerably. We propose a number of technical and political options, which would contribute to improving the security of the Internet. It focuses on the debates around end-to-end encryption and anonymization, as well as on policies addressing software and hardware vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the Internet architecture. •The debate on mass surveillance has highlighted the need to improve the security of the internet.•Policies should be aimed at stimulating the adoption of Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs).•Weaknesses should be addressed on software and hardware levels.•Industry incentives to give consumers and organisations more choice should be enlarged.