Cybersecurity Experts Fight for Your Encryption Rights

Cybersecurity experts and privacy advocates like myself are stepping up to protect strong encryption standards, which are facing an all-out legislative assault from the current administration and the Senate. But we need the help of business leaders like yourself to maintain the privacy of your data. Here is an excellent excerpt from Joseph Marks of The Washington Post:

The bill, called the Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act, is the harshest among a number of efforts to weaken encryption across the Justice Department and Congress.

It would effectively require tech companies to weaken access to their secure systems to ensure law enforcement with a warrant can track terrorists, sexual predators and other criminals. But that would also make it far easier for cybercriminals and adversary nations to hack into troves of government, financial and health records,“ (emphasis mine).

C-level executives, board members, business managers and entrepreneurs, here is what I have learned from 15 years in this business: you can either listen to and evaluate the overwhelming consensus of cybersecurity experts before the damage is done, or you can attempt to recover once it is too late. Most leaders choose to pay attention to these topics only after they have been directly affected, which is a far costlier and more painful path. If I were advising your board or executive leadership team, I would recommend that you contact your Senator and Representative and swing as much weight as possible to dissuade this bill from passing.

Nothing is more important than catching criminals and protecting our children, but this bill is a wolf masquerading in sheep’s clothing.


John Sileo is a cybersecurity expert, award-winning author and media personality as seen on 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper and Fox & Friends. He keynotes conferences around the world and is the CEO of The Sileo Group, a technology think tank based in Colorado