Politics & Government
The FBI and the War on Encryption
Dr. Jeremy Gillula of the Electronic Frontier Foundation will discuss the technical issues of the crypto-wars at the Ygnacio Valley Library.
Why do the FBI and other law enforcement agencies want companies like Apple to put back doors in their products? What are the implications of that? On Wednesday, June 22, 6:30 PM, at the Ygnacio Valley Library, Dr. Jeremy Gillula, Ph.D., staff technologist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, will discuss the technical issues around the crypto-wars.
Encryption is a fundamental building block of computer technology, from the encryption your web browser uses to make sure your purchases are secure, to the encryption your insurance company uses when they store your health records, to the encryption your smartphone uses to ensure that a stolen phone doesn't also mean a stolen identity. This encryption mostly happens in the background, and no one gives it a second thought. But encryption jumped into the headlines this year when the FBI demanded that Apple help decrypt an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters.
In this presentation Dr. Gillula will explain everything you ever wanted to know about encryption, from how it works to why the FBI wants to make it weaker -- and why most computer security experts, including many former FBI and NSA officials, disagree. He will discuss the history leaning up to the Apple case, its ramifications, and what the current battleground looks like in the fight between some parts of law enforcement and the digital security community.
Find out what's happening in Walnut Creekfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Dr. Gillula is a staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a leading nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world. His work focuses on issues ranging from net neutrality to mobile privacy to defending encryption. Prior to joining EFF, he earned a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford, and a B.S. in computer science from Caltech.
This free presentation is offered as part of the Science@YourLibrary, a county-wide Summer Reading Festival lecture series for adults. It will be held in the community room of the Ygnacio Valley Library, located at 2661 Oak Grove Road, Walnut Creek, 94598. For more information, please call the Ygnacio Valley Library at 925-938-1481.
