i3 - July/August 2016 - 10

Tech
Senator Wydon at
home in Oregon.

these issues. Rule 41 (the Federal Rules
of Criminal Procedure) is a little known
procedural change that would dramatically expand the governments' hacking
and surveillance authority.
I have introduced legislation called the Stopping
Senator
Mass Hacking Act because
otherwise, one judge with
one warrant could authorize
the government to hack
U.S. Senator from Oregon
Incumbent
a million or more devices
including phones, computAssumed office
ers and tablets and a variety
February 6, 1996
of digital goods. If Congress
Chairman of the Senate
does not act, it basically will
Finance Committee
get maneuvered through a
February 12, 2014 -
January 3, 2015
really arcane process by the
Department of Justice. On
Chairman of the Senate
these kinds of issues, encrypEnergy Committee
January 3, 2013 -
tion, Rule 41 - the question
February 12, 2014
comes back to when you are
talking about proper rules
Member of the U.S.
House of Representatives
for government, what you
from Oregon's 3rd District
want to do is find policies
January 3, 1981 -
that recognize security
February 5, 1996
interests in a dangerous
Born
world. As I said recently in
May 3, 1949,
the Intelligence Committee,
Wichita, Kansas
if you weaken strong encrypPolitical Party
tion, you put Americans
Democratic
at risk personally at a very
Education
dangerous time. I am going
University of California,
to announce that I will filiSanta Barbara;
buster any effort to have the
Stanford University;
government require that the
University of Oregon
companies build back doors
Website
into their products.

afterwards there are these rapid, almost
kneejerk responses by some policymakers
at a time when the country wants security
and liberty. But these responses end up
giving you less of both. And that is the case
with encryption. We saw another example
of this in the Intelligence Committee with
the head of the CIA, Mr. John Brennan.
I talked about my concern about the link
to back doors in various digital goods,
and why that was so unwise and I said,
"If you do that in the United States, the
terrorists and the hackers are just going
to go overseas." And he responded it was a
"theoritical" capability. After the hearing, I
had to correct that for the record and point
out that the CIA Director essentially was
wrong. There are hundreds of inexpensive
or free encryption products available
overseas that people have access to.
Can you explain what you meant when
you said we have choice between less
security and more security?
The encryption debate is not between
privacy and security - it is between more
security and less security. If in fact, in a
digital age, you want Americans to be as
10

JULY/AUGUST 2016

safe as possible, strong
encryption ensures
that is the case. These
issues are not abstract;
we are dealing with
them right now.
There are thousands
of articles every time
there is a discussion
in the press written by
thoughtful people that
always set this up as a
battle between security and privacy. A few
weeks ago I said that
wyden.senate.gov
is not what the debate
is about. It's about
What does CES mean
are you going to have
to you?
more security or less security? I talked
To me CES is a place where leaders, media
about what people have on their smartand innovators get together. It's a wonphones like their medical records and their derful showcase for terrific ideas, great
financial records. Many smartphones have
products and technology. It is very helpful
a location tracker that parents use to keep
that organizations like CTA in effect spark
tabs on young people.
these kinds of efforts where you get people
together to talk face-to-face to each other.
To me, as someone who cares about policy,
What is the role for government surCES is that kind of opportunity and platveillance in a post-Snowden world?
form where people can discuss ideas.
n
There are going to be a whole host of
I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

Courtesy of Ronald Wyden

RON
WYDEN

http://wyden.senate.gov

i3 - July/August 2016

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