Encrypting the Entire Web; Facebook’s New Plan to Connect the World

Posted April 14th, 2016 at 11:35 am (UTC-4)
1 comment

Today’s Tech Sightings:

FILE - A lock icon signifying an encrypted Internet connection is seen on an Internet browser in a photo illustration in Paris, France, April 15, 2014. The HTTPS web protocol is more secure than its HTTP predecessor. (Reuters)

FILE – A lock icon signifying an encrypted Internet connection is seen on an Internet browser in a photo illustration in Paris, France, April 15, 2014. The HTTPS web standard (Top) is more secure than its HTTP predecessor. (Reuters)

A Scheme to Encrypt the Entire Web Is Actually Working

Encryption is slowly becoming the enemy, so to speak, as lawmakers, at least in the U.S., rush to enact legislation that would either add back doors to mobile devices or force tech companies to comply with government requests to unlock certain smartphones. But the San Francisco-based Internet Security Research Group aims to change that with a new initiative called Let’s Encrypt. The idea is to help switch millions of websites still using the old, insecure HTTP web standard to HTTPS, which encrypts browsing and guards against surveillance.

The Tech Community Is Mobilizing Against Burr-Feinstein Encryption Bill

Two influential members of the U.S. Congress are pushing a bill that would effectively require all tech companies to add back doors to their encryption technology or give up encryption altogether. The move has little support following the standoff between Apple and U.S. law enforcement agencies over a court order to unlock an iPhone belonging to a California mass shooter.

Facebook to Facilitate Global Internet Connectivity With ‘Terragraph’

Facebook is using new millimeter wave technology to provide low-cost Internet access and potentially replace Google’s Fiber project in remote areas. The new project is called “Terragraph” and is currently being tested at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Millimeter waves can travel faster than Wi-Fi signals, and Facebook claims they will make Internet speed 10 times faster.

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Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

One response to “Encrypting the Entire Web; Facebook’s New Plan to Connect the World”

  1. Bill Webb says:

    Anything that can be encrypted can be decrypted. Half of the refuse of society battling the other half of the refuse of society.

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