Civil Liberties

NSA Revelations Spur Push To "Encrypt Everything"

Good idea

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Information security professionals would do well to use the NSA revelations as a catalyst for improving their own business information security defenses. "Now that everyone is paying attention, it is a great time to start taking security seriously," said Ristic. "What specifically [is there] to do? Encrypt everything. Don't worry about what might be broken; we can fix those things once we learn the facts," he said, referring to as-yet-vague reports about precisely which crypto systems or products the NSA has either weakened or cracked.

Encrypting everything, of course, will take time and money. But consider the alternative: leaving businesses as sitting ducks for any adversary—looking here beyond the NSA—that might want to steal their intellectual property.