Judiciary chairman Leahy says currently laws governing electronic communications are outdated and inadequate. Sen. Patrick Leahy, Democrat from Vermont and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he plans to hold hearings on "much-needed updates" to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 in the coming months.. "While the question of how best to balance privacy and security in the 21st century has no simple answer, what is clear is that our federal electronic privacy laws are woefully outdated," Leahy said, in a statement. Google, Microsoft and other tech companies also joined privacy advocates and academics this week in seeking tougher laws that raise the standards for government access to e-mail, instant messages and personal files stored online. The broad Digital Due Process coalition wants Congress to rewrite the privacy act. The group argues the law is outdated and no longer provides adequate protection of personal data stored on the Internet, as it exists today. "Technology has changed dramatically in the last 20 years, but the law has not," Jim Dempsey, VP for public policy at the Center for Democracy and Technology, said in a statement announcing the formation of the group. Dempsey is a leader of the coalition effort. The coalition sees a number of privacy weaknesses in the act. Top on the list is changing rules that allow law enforcement agencies to access some e-mail, instant messages and other information stored online through simple subpoenas. The organization wants Congress to up the requirement, so such agencies would need court-ordered warrants, which require convincing a court that there's enough evidence of a criminal act to support a search and seize data. The link for this article located at Information Week is no longer available. . Discussions initiated by Representative Johnson seek to update aging data protection regulations for today's digital messaging.. Privacy Act, Electronic Communications, Government Access, Data Protection, Tech Laws. .LinuxSecurity.com Team
The National Security Agency is beginning a 15-year, multibillion-dollar effort to modernize the nation's cryptographic systems, which are rapidly growing obsolete and vulnerable. Cryptographic systems encode messages and include such tools as secure telephones, tactical radios and smart cards. Virtually every . . . . The National Security Agency is beginning a 15-year, multibillion-dollar effort to modernize the nation's cryptographic systems, which are rapidly growing obsolete and vulnerable. Cryptographic systems encode messages and include such tools as secure telephones, tactical radios and smart cards. Virtually every federal department and agency--including the military, the White House, intelligence agencies and the State Department--use encryption. But existing encryption algorithms are no longer cutting-edge, and hardware for many systems is becoming obsolete. Replacing them is a top goal for NSA's information assurance directorate, said Michael Jacobs, who heads the directorate. The link for this article located at FCW.com is no longer available. . The National Security Agency is beginning a 15-year, multibillion-dollar effort to modernize the nat. national, security, agency, beginning, 15-year, multibillion-dollar, effort, modernize. . Anthony Pell
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