Privacy & Privatization | Doron Stern | TEDxBGU
A lawyer recounts an incident where his wife's stolen bag, containing her phone, could not be located by the mobile company or police due to strict privacy policies, illustrating a societal shift where privacy is prioritized over crime prevention. This shift is amplified in cyberspace, where advanced encryption hinders law enforcement, leading to a rise in cybercrime and the emergence of a privatized cybersecurity industry that, while defending against threats, also reinforces privacy barriers. The speaker argues this dynamic leaves citizens unprotected and accepting of crime, suggesting future solutions may involve AI and blockchain for authentication rather than anonymity, potentially allowing defenders to use private data to protect society. ## Speakers & Context - Unnamed lawyer, speaker. - Recounts a personal experience from "a number of years ago" involving his wife's stolen bag. - The talk appears to be delivered in a context where cybersecurity and privacy are major themes, possibly at a conference or academic setting. ## Theses & Positions - Privacy has become a dominant civil liberty, recognized in the 20th century and increasingly influential in legislation and legal interpretation. - In cyberspace, privacy is not safe from criminals, yet it poses a risk to other liberties, including property, well-being, and life. - Law enforcement's ability to prevent and investigate crime is hampered by advanced encryption used by criminals. - Technology companies prioritize customer privacy over assisting law enforcement, even in cases of serious crime. - The rise of cybercrime has led to a privatized cybersecurity industry that focuses on defense rather than apprehending criminals, leaving a gap in justice. - The current situation, where privacy is defended at the expense of crime prevention, is unsustainable and leaves citizens unprotected. - Future solutions to cybercrime may involve AI and blockchain technology to provide authentication rather than anonymity, potentially allowing defenders to utilize private data. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Privacy Policy:** A set of rules governing how a company handles customer data, which the mobile phone company cited as a reason for not revealing phone location. - **Court Order:** A legal directive from a court, which the speaker was told was necessary to obtain phone location data. - **Cyberspace:** The digital realm where much of modern communication and commerce occurs, characterized by rapid technological advancement and new forms of crime. - **Uncrackable Encryption:** Advanced cryptographic methods that make it virtually impossible for unauthorized parties, including law enforcement, to access the content of communications. - **Backdoor:** A hidden method of bypassing normal security or authentication functions, which the FBI sought from Apple. - **Cybersecurity Industry:** A sector of companies that develop solutions to prevent, defend against, and detect cyber threats and crimes. - **Cybercriminals:** Individuals who use digital means to commit crimes, often characterized by anonymity, intelligence, and the ability to disguise their identity. - **Blockchain:** A distributed, immutable ledger technology that could offer a direction for electronic authentication and certification. - **Artificial Intelligence (AI):** A field of computer science that aims to create intelligent machines, believed by the speaker to potentially prevail over criminal ingenuity. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Mobile Phone Location Tracking:** The process by which a mobile phone company can determine the geographical location of a device. - **Law Enforcement Investigation:** The process by which police gather information and evidence to identify and apprehend criminals. - **Encryption:** The process of encoding information so that only authorized parties can access it. - **Cybercrime Perpetration:** The use of digital tools and techniques to commit crimes such as identity theft, blackmail, ransomware attacks, and malware distribution. - **Cybersecurity Defense:** The implementation of measures and technologies to protect systems and data from cyber threats. - **Authentication:** The process of verifying the identity of a user or device, which the speaker suggests can be achieved through blockchain technology. ## Timeline & Sequence - **"A number of years ago":** The speaker's wife's bag was stolen, initiating the personal anecdote. - **20th Century:** Privacy began to be recognized as a dominant civil liberty. - **Recent Years:** Privacy has become a major liberty, influencing legislation and the interpretation of other laws. - **November 2015:** Police in Paris, France, had information about a planned terror attack but failed to access encrypted messages on Telegram. - **June 2015:** FBI Director testified before Congress about the threat of uncrackable encryption to law enforcement efforts. - **"A few months later" (after June 2015 testimony):** Apple refused to provide the FBI with a backdoor into an iPhone messaging system related to the San Bernardino attack. - **"Thirty years or so":** The period during which individuals have been willingly placing private information in cyberspace. - **"Early 1800s":** The speaker uses the Wild West era as an analogy for the current state of cybersecurity and crime. - **"In later years":** The speaker envisions a future where current challenges become a "queer perhaps romantic memory." ## Named Entities - **Paris, France:** Location of a terror attack in November 2015. - **Telegram:** An encrypted messaging system used by terrorists. - **Congress:** U.S. legislative body before which the FBI Director testified. - **FBI:** Federal Bureau of Investigation, which sought access to encrypted messages. - **Apple:** Technology company that refused to provide a backdoor into its iPhone messaging system. - **San Bernardino, California:** Location of an attack where the FBI could not access messages exchanged by the couple responsible. - **Tel Aviv:** City where the thief was walking during the speaker's phone call. - **Wild West:** Historical period and setting used as an analogy for current cybersecurity challenges. - **Gary Cooper, John Wayne:** Actors associated with Western films, representing a romanticized past of law enforcement. ## Numbers & Data - **130:** People killed in the Bataclan nightclub attack in Paris. - **14:** People killed in the San Bernardino, California attack. - **30 years:** The approximate duration individuals have been placing private information in cyberspace. - **1800s:** The century referenced in the Wild West analogy. ## Examples & Cases - **Wife's stolen bag:** The speaker's personal anecdote where a stolen bag with a mobile phone could not be located by the mobile company or police due to privacy policies. - **Paris terror attack (November 2015):** Terrorists used Telegram's encrypted messaging system, and Telegram refused to assist French police in accessing their messages, leading to an attack that killed 130 people. - **San Bernardino attack (2015):** The FBI could not access iPhone messages exchanged by the attackers because Apple refused to create a backdoor into its encryption system. - **Cybercriminals' actions:** Using stolen identity to access bank accounts, blackmailing individuals with private information, deploying ransomware, and installing viruses/malware. - **Wild West analogy:** Robbers storming a town, robbing a bank, and vanishing while the sheriff is passive, representing the current state of crime and law enforcement in cyberspace. ## Tools, Tech & Products - **Mobile Phone:** Device containing personal information and location data. - **Encrypted Messaging System (e.g., Telegram):** Technology that secures communications. - **iPhone Messaging System:** Apple's proprietary messaging service. - **Ransomware:** Malicious software that encrypts a victim's data and demands payment for its decryption. - **Viruses, Malware, Worms:** Types of malicious software designed to disrupt computer systems or steal data. - **Blockchain:** A distributed ledger technology proposed as a future solution for electronic authentication. - **Artificial Intelligence (AI):** Technology envisioned to overcome criminal ingenuity. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **Privacy vs. Crime Prevention:** The central conflict discussed, where prioritizing privacy hinders law enforcement's ability to prevent and solve crimes. - **Technology Company Cooperation vs. Customer Privacy:** The dilemma faced by tech companies when asked to assist law enforcement. - **Traditional State Police vs. Private Cybersecurity Forces:** The speaker questions whether privatized security is a viable or desirable alternative to government-led law enforcement. - **Anonymity vs. Authentication in Cyberspace:** The speaker suggests a shift from anonymity to electronic authentication as a means to reduce cybercrime. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - The speaker acknowledges that privacy has not always been treated as such a dominant civil liberty. - He notes that while defending privacy has become an obstacle to safety, privacy itself is more violated than ever in cyberspace by criminals. - He questions the effectiveness and desirability of privatized police forces. - He suggests that while accepting the current situation or complaining are options, a forward-looking approach involving technological solutions is also necessary. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - The current balance between privacy and crime prevention is flawed, leaving citizens unprotected and accepting of cybercrime. - There is a need to revise laws, develop new rules of evidence, and foster international cooperation to address cybercrime effectively. - The speaker suggests investing in the cybersecurity industry and exploring technological solutions like AI and blockchain for future crime prevention. - He advocates for a shift from anonymity to electronic authentication in cyberspace. - The ultimate goal is to find a way to defend society without compromising the ability to catch criminals and bring them to justice. ## Implications & Consequences - The prioritization of privacy over crime prevention leaves citizens vulnerable to criminals, both in the physical world and in cyberspace. - The inability of law enforcement to access encrypted communications hinders their efforts to prevent and investigate serious crimes, including terrorism. - The rise of cybercrime and the limitations of traditional law enforcement create a vacuum filled by private cybersecurity companies, leading to a privatized security landscape. - Society may become accustomed to a level of cybercrime that is considered incurable, leading to a compromise of basic rights and a loss of hope for justice. - Future technological advancements like AI and blockchain may offer new avenues for combating cybercrime and rebalancing the relationship between privacy and security. ## Verbatim Moments - *"My wife's purse got stolen"* - *"I can call the mobile phone company and they can tell us where the phone is and where the bag is and then we can know where the thief is"* - *"No said the man from the mobile phone company we can tell you that it's against our privacy policy"* - *"Sorry we can't do that either we have no way of knowing whether it's really her"* - *"Please you've got to help me the bag was just stolen"* - *"Perhaps you have a supervisor"* - *"There was no way we will be able to get the bag back or to get the location of the phone unless we managed to come up with a court order"* - *"It's it's our privacy and we asked to be violated"* - *"I call the police I told them quickly what happened"* - *"I'm sorry sir we can't do that said the policeman"* - *"There's a man walking in the streets with an electronic sign I am a thief and you are the police don't you want to catch a thief"* - *"I'm surprised at you sir he said you are a lawyer you must appreciate the value of both privacy"* - *"Our privacy method more than our belongings"* - *"The police was no longer sure what was more important their duty to protect to prevent crime or their obligation to respect privacy"* - *"Privacy prevailed"* - *"Privacy was not always treated to such a dominant civil liberty"* - *"Privacy is no longer safe in the cyberspace but privacy itself poses a risk to other liberties one's property one's well-being sometimes even ones actual life"* - *"Uncrackable encryption is allowing terrorists to communicate about the criminal intentions without fear of outside intrusion"* - *"They were sorting the efforts of law enforcement to detain prevent and investigate illegal activities"* - *"Apple refused to give the FBI a backdoor into the iPhone messaging system"* - *"The FBI could not detect messages that were exchanged between the couple that launched the attack in San Bernardino California and left 14 people dead"* - *"We were witnessing perhaps in an extreme way the very same phenomena that I experienced in my wife's bag story"* - *"The police was weak it had to rely on technology companies"* - *"Technology companies felt that privacy method more than anything else and therefore refused to assist the police in defending from actual in this case even murderous crimes"* - *"While defending our privacy became a major obstacle in protecting our safety our privacy itself in the cyber space was more violated than ever perhaps by criminals and also by non criminals"* - *"We gradually realized that it has been used it has been exploited sometimes by the very custodians with whom we deposited this private information"* - *"Cybercriminals were using you are using our private information in order to commit crime over the web"* - *"They were using our identity in order to access our bank accounts"* - *"They were taking hold of our private information and tried to blackmail us"* - *"Sometimes they placed ransomware into our private computers and threatened to shut it down to shut down the whole system unless we pay them"* - *"Sometimes they just put viruses and malware and worms and what-have-you just in order to show us that they can"* - *"So many of us actually all of us became victims of small and large cyber crimes in horrific volumes all over the web all over the world"* - *"While we were willingly risking our privacy in the cyberspace and while we were all victims of cybercrime by now we were determined not to let anyone access our privacy in order to defend us"* - *"We were suspicious we were unsecure in private companies sensed it and developed solutions in order to answer this need"* - *"It was called cyber security and cyber security companies popped up like mushrooms after the cybercrime reign"* - *"These companies did not offer ways to catch the criminals only to defend against these crimes"* - *"Catching the criminals was not their task it was the government's task"* - *"The police's is is an organization as all this crime is it has a huge experience in dealing with criminals but with slightly different kind of criminals"* - *"Suddenly a new breed of criminals emerged criminals who were loners who were bright who had unprecedented means to disguise their true identity"* - *"The forms of cyber crimes also changed much faster that the police could could address"* - *"Almost all cyber crimes are committed multi nationally or even non nationally in the cyber space"* - *"For the police it's pretty hard to reach a criminal and put its hand on it when it's away from its jurisdiction"* - *"Laws needed to be revised and loss takes years to it to be enacted international treaties take longer new rules of evidence need to be developed and deployed in order to bring these new crimes to justice"* - *"The crimes are not really newest it's the same old story it's it's it's stealing it's forgery it's extortion but their forms are different and the ways to prove them in court was different"* - *"I'm afraid justice systems are even slower than police to address changes"* - *"So they just left us citizens and protected without an effective police and without an effective law enforcement"* - *"The cyber security industry became our private police"* - *"We were suddenly faced with a new privatized service we never asked for we can call them the private cyber security forces"* - *"The police was was tamed to prefer our privacy over our right and their duty to prevent crime"* - *"This was probably why the policeman on the other side of the line in my wife's bag story was rejected to call the mobile phone operator and gave up on an opportunity to catch a thief"* - *"Perhaps privacy does matter more than catching criminals especially cyber criminals"* - *"Perhaps a private cyber security force is better than the old-fashioned traditional state police"* - *"I I don't think so I think that privatized police and privacy prevail and leading us as a society to compromise on our basic rights"* - *"We give up on our right as citizens to be protected by our respective governments and more painfully we give up on our hope to catch criminals and bring them to justice"* - *"We started to accept cyber crime as a problem which cannot be cured and must be contained and this is not right"* - *"We made the right for privacy a good reason or perhaps an excuse to give up on our right to catch criminals and bring them to justice and this is not right"* - *"Now what to do one way is to accept the situation less the hidden hand of the market it mired the cyber security industry which managed to develop those means to address cyber crime perhaps invest in them Eve"* - *"Another way is to complain like I do the two can be complimentary you can do both and the third option is to try and look at what the future will bring with it"* - *"I do believe that artificial intelligence will prevail over it"* - *"I think that what is commonly called blockchain offers a direction"* - *"Instead of looking for ways in order to remove anonymity in order to require every user in the web to identify himself blockchain machines encrypted machines can actually require every user in the web to get electronic authentication to get a sort of a certification in order to allow him to do everything anything over the web"* - *"With this era we will see the size and volume of cybercrime reducing significantly"* - *"Perhaps by that time we will be more relaxed with our privacy and we'll be ready to let the defenders use our privacy in order to defend us"* - *"There is something which doesn't make sense in the fact that our attackers are accessing our privacy all the time and our defenders are so reluctant to use it"* - *"I think we're in an intermediate phase we're a little bit like people in a small town in the Wild West in the early 1800s"* - *"Robbers are storming the town from time to time robbed the bank as they please and vanish the sheriff is spending his days on the porch probably smoking cigarettes his legs up on the rail"* - *"There is no solution to crime except maybe the Gary Cooper's or the John Wayne's of the world"* - *"In later years this is all due to become a queer perhaps romantic memory of an unsafe wild past and in some years we may be looking at our times with the same degree of amazement and amusement"*