Cybersecurity and Cyber Freedom: The Future of Digital Surveillance Technology

Advances in communications technologies have enabled countless new opportunities for business growth, and have increased the ability of citizens and advocacy groups to promote change in this country and across the globe. At the same time, criminals and terrorists can use Internet technologies to organize and expand their operations. Internet-based platforms have also become a new target for cyber attacks and espionage as business and government use increases. While information technology allows law enforcement and national security organizations new levels of surveillance in the fight against malicious actors, these systems bring their own risks to both online freedom and cybersecurity.

On February 14, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings hosted a panel discussion on the future of digital surveillance. Experts discussed the arms race between those seeking to monitor online behavior, and those they wish to track. Building on the debate in the late 1990s over the legalization of cryptography, the discussion explored how old surveillance paradigms fit with new technologies. Cybersecurity expert Susan Landau delivered a keynote address.

After the program, speakers took audience questions.