Adam Segal, chair of the Council on Foreign Relations in emerging technologies and national security, recently released a report that examined the divide between the federal government and the U.S. technology sector.
“In addition to rising cybersecurity threats, the Trump Administration will inherit a growing political divide between Washington and U.S. tech firms that stems in large part from the disclosures by NSA contractor Edward Snowden,” Segal said.
In his report, titled Rebuilding Trust Between Silicon Valley and Washington, Segal said that potential adversaries will continue to use hardware and software developed by U.S.-based companies and that both law enforcement and intelligence agencies will persist in exploiting vulnerabilities found in those products.
Segal offered a series of recommendations that both the tech sector and government officials should work together to achieve, including growing the cyber workforce, combating the spread of forced data localization, deterring would-be state attackers, and forging a compromise over the deployment and use of encryption and lawful access to data.
Segal also offered policy recommendations for the United States to pursue, including continuing support for the U.S. Digital Service; amending provisions of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to allow tech companies to provide data to foreign governments; attribute attacks more frequently and divide forceful responses, such as covert cyber operations; and strengthen law enforcement’s ability to conduct lawful hacking under strict judicial oversight with clearly-defined protocol of when to disclose information on software vulnerabilities.