Digital Privacy
26 Feb 2015 Jim Killock Privacy
GCHQ is damaging businesses and the digital economy – we need your help
But it is the Internet economy that is at risk, just as much as our civil liberties. Politicians need to know this.
Digital businesses should be fearing for the future. According to the government, GCHQ has apparently done nothing substantially wrong. Hacking into legitimate businesses, stealing data or SIM encryption keys is ok. Owning Belgacom’s networks with GCHQ malware is just targeting terrorists. Who cares if it costs them £12 million to clean up the mess GCHQ has made?
Digital businesses depend on customer trust, including trust of encryption tools, which are used for all kinds of secure transactions. Cloud services need to be trusted as secure, rather than surveillance platforms, or they won’t be used.
But is any of this being heard? On the one hand, the government says that Britain needs to be a digital success story, and promotes projects like “Silicon Roundabout”. On the other, it is undermining the very basics you rely on, like the rule of law, Internet security and customer trust.
The government’s story on digital economy doesn’t make sense. None of the parties seem to be spelling this out. So we need your help.
We need people in business to help us publicly by explaining in the press, and to key politicians, that GCHQ cannot carry on in this way without seriously damaging the online economy.
If you have experience of this, or simply think politicians are getting this wrong, and are willing to speak up, please let us know.
Email us, send us your telephone number, and we’ll talk with you about how you can help politicians understand the damage they are creating to jobs and the digital economy.
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