Foreign State Actors, Security, and Privacy: What is the Future of End-to-End Encryption?
Event Video
The 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California kicked off a debate over whether U.S. tech companies should accede to government demands for back-door access to iPhones and other devices to aid in law enforcement operations. Then in 2020, the Russian intelligence service conducted one of the largest cybersecurity breaches in history, gaining access to scores of government and private sector networks and data by exploiting software management company SolarWinds' IT monitoring system that had privileged access to these networks.
The SolarWinds data breach and the subsequent 2024 Salt Typhoon attack re-opened the debate over encryption and highlighted the importance of end-to-end encryption in protecting U.S. national security interests. A recent letter from the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees to the UK's Home Secretary sounded the alarm about a reported secret order from the UK government allegedly compelling Apple to break its end-to-end encryption for some users of its cloud storage services. This has raised new questions about user privacy, foreign government demands of U.S. companies, and whether end-to-end encryption prevents threat actors from accessing data.
Join us as a panel of experts explores this multifaceted debate and what implications there may be for U.S. privacy law, cybersecurity policy, and international comity.
Featuring:
- Sean Cooksey, Managing Director, BGR Group; Former Counsel to Vice President Vance
- Jamil Jaffer, Founder and Executive Director, National Security Institute; Assistant Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
- Susan Landau, Professor of Cyber Security and Policy, Tufts University
- (Moderator) Tara C. McFeely, Strategic Council, Silverado Policy Accelerator; Former Republican Deputy Staff Director, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.
