CISPA returns: online privacy of the United States under the threat (new)

CISPA returns: online privacy of the United States under the threat (new) -

in the chagrin of online privacy advocates everywhere, more fun Intelligence Act Cyber ​​Sharing and protection (CISPA) has made its way back to Congress this month, with US lawmakers to prepare now to vote on the issue - just 12 months after the last attempt was killed by the Senate.

The motivation behind the reintroduction of the law is considered necessary, with US officials increasingly concerned about their ability to repel a sophisticated computer attack, especially when these attacks are intended for their national infrastructure. (Officials were silent as to whether some of that fear is partly self-inflicted, without mention of the unfortunate saga Stuxnet).

If passed, the law would allow the government and private companies to freely start the collection and sharing of personal data, provided that it is classified as "cyber threat information" far undefined. Cue widespread outcry. Not only companies are able to transmit private user information to the government, but they will also be immune to a number of transparency measures to maintain the controls on these powerful companies, namely freedom requests for information. That large machinery companies really need more protection is certainly a relevant question.

In addition to being completely free of control, companies that share information under CISPA will also be exempt from prosecution for a series of violations of privacy, provided that the information is collected and shared in "good faith." This leaves users in the undesirable position of not knowing what private information was shared, no trace of which has been shared with, and no power to do anything about it.

As expected, the proposal was met with outrage among US Internet users, with a sending group already an anti-CISPA petition to Congress containing an impressive number of 300,000 signatures. The voice often ACLU also expressed concern about the new law, choosing instead to save a decree by President Obama, which allows the government to share information with private companies, but not the reverse. The ACLU fears that companies could be encouraged to share information of their customers, as a result of CISPA.

If you want to keep your private information safe pending the outcome of the debate CISPA, try using a VPN service. A VPN service adds an extra layer of security to your data, maintaining the safest self-cyber criminals.

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