Privacy advocates have long warned us that the government may be reading our emails and other online communications. But now the U.S. government is being warned that its communications need to make more consistent use of encryption to protect email, texts and phone calls.
A letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) this week to top government security staff notes that Congress members and their staffers are not very security-conscious and may be at risk from foreign governments, criminals, hackers and even other branches of the government. The civil liberties group’s letter noted that government-wide use of widely available encryption technologies is essential for both personal privacy and national security, according to a Washington Post story.
In July, the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) acknowledged that the security clearances, social security numbers, and other personal information of more than 22 million people inside and outside of the government had been stolen by Chinese hackers.
Last year, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) admitted it improperly hacked the Senate Intelligence Committee’s computers as the committee was investigating the agency’s detention and interrogation programs. The ACLU letter notes that the OPM hack and the Senate Intelligence Committee experience highlight the importance of insuring the integrity of government communications.