Citizen Lab director warns cyber industry about US authoritarian descent
18 days ago
- #Big Tech
- #authoritarianism
- #cybersecurity
- Ron Deibert, director of Citizen Lab, warns about the fusion of tech and fascism and urges the cybersecurity community to combat authoritarianism.
- Deibert highlights the role of Big Tech platforms in exacerbating collective insecurity, a concern not typically addressed as a cybersecurity issue.
- Recent political events in the U.S. are described as a 'dramatic descent into authoritarianism,' with cybersecurity professionals called to defend against it.
- The cybersecurity industry, historically apolitical in the U.S., is now deeply entangled with politics, as seen in the case of former CISA director Chris Krebs.
- Jen Easterly, another former CISA director, advocates for cybersecurity professionals to speak out against political interference to protect democratic institutions.
- Deibert expresses concern over potential cuts to threat intelligence teams at major tech companies like Meta, Google, and Apple, which track government hackers.
- These teams have been crucial in detecting spyware attacks, such as NSO Group's hacking of WhatsApp users and government spyware targeting Apple customers.
- Deibert identifies a 'huge market failure' in cybersecurity for global civil society, which lacks access to high-end security services typically reserved for governments and corporations.
- He emphasizes the need for pro bono contributions from cybersecurity professionals to support liberal democracy amid growing threats.