Information Security

Internet surveillance and cybercrime are topics of great, and justified, public concern in Europe.  This session offers an overview of what we mean by ‘security’ in the context of computer networks, the technologies that users can adopt to improve their security, and also the responsibilities this imposes on governments and organisations. It also considers the ways by which technologies both impose and subvert control over information, and how these can be exploited by both states and individuals.

Topics to include:

• How secure or insecure are basic Internet protocols?
• In the fallout from leaks concerning global surveillance, is the growing use of encryption effective? Is it a positive development?
• What is data localisation?  What are the arguments for and against?
• Can and should Internet users be anonymous and what are the policy implications?
• Why is it so challenging to intervene in criminal markets for data such as credit card information and personal identities?