Advancement in technology and the increasing reliance on technology as a medium of communication have caused debates on what is vital when it comes to information security. Firstly, there is a need to ensure national security which justifies surveillance of all exchanges on the internet platform to check for any threats to national security. The issue of national security arises from the notion that threats to national security are planned and enabled by communications that are made using technological platforms (Angwen, 2014). On the other hand, there is a need to uphold personal privacy which is not the case when the government has surveillance on a personal conversation on technological devices. The thin margin between national security and personal privacy provokes the question of what is the most critical issue surrounding national security and personal privacy.
The issues most critical issue about internet and digital communications and exchanges is privacy. The primary goal and need for a person is to have confidence in the privacy and confidentiality of their conversations. A breach to confidentiality renders any communication platform unreliable and any information obtained through unauthorized means should be invalid. The criticality of personal privacy is evident in the invalidation of the US public surveillance program as an illegal project. Privacy is part of every citizen right as provided for in the constitution. The courts declared the act of tracking personal calls and mobile phone exchanges as intruding on the privacy of innocent civilians (Bamford, 2014). After all, the intention of the program was to track terrorist threats and yet the program had not helped prevent any terrorist attack. The Congress the president and the public found the infringement on privacy wrong with the congress disowning the program and the president ordering its termination. The vitality of privacy is evidence in the reaction Snowmen’s leaked documents on government surveillance of US citizens Emails, messages and phone calls clearly shows that privacy is important in security (Bamford, 2014). The leaks ignite a reaction from politicians and the media which demonstrates that privacy is highly valued as politicians try to separate themselves to the program and even deny it.
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Privacy is a valued right and one that should be protected. People need to trust that their private lives and activities are not exposed or vulnerable to be used against the Since the exposure of the invasive call-tracking program by the NSA, companies manufacturing digital devices have gone the extra mile in ensuring the protection of consumers information. Technologists have are engineered their designs to ensure their clients privacy is enhanced. Technological devices have been improved to correct the vulnerabilities in their infrastructure that allowed the state to access and track individual data on devices (Snowden, 2015). Most application and technological functions on devices are now enabled with an end to end encryptions to reinforce confidentiality. Additionally, the encryptions are set in way such that even the companies have no access or right to the data as third parties. The law provides that data availed to the public on public platforms or to third parties are not private and hence not subject to warranties to access (Snowden, 2015). Technologists have therefore gone to the extent of having end to end encryptions that eliminates the possibility of third parties.
In conclusion, the element and purpose of security is safety and privacy. The issue of which is more important lies in the object and the relevance to safety and privacy. When the preservation of personal privacy compromises the state of national security, then safety becomes critical. However, access to cases is accounted for through the requirement of a warrant to access information in such cases. Otherwise, privacy is necessary and important in respect and to uphold the right to privacy. Surveillance in itself is right but only when its function is more beneficial than harmful. In the case of call tracking and public surveillance, it is clear that it did not serve the purpose of identifying beforehand terrorism threats. In that case, it infringed on personal privacy without substantial reason.
References
Bamford, James (2014) "Edward Snowden: The Untold Story," Wired. Retrieved on 17 June 2018 from https://www.wired.com/2014/08/edward-snowden/
Snowden, Edward (2015). "The World Says No to Surveillance," New York Times. Retrieved on 17 June, 2018 from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/05/opinion/edward-snowden-the-world-says-no-to-surveillance.html?_r=1&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Opinion&action=keypress®ion=FixedLeft&pgtype=article.
Angwen, J. (2014). A short history of tracking. In Dragnet nation: A quest for privacy, security, and freedom in a world of relentless surveillance (Pp. 21-34). Henry Holt and Company.
