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Computer security and the lack of computer security is a fundamental issue that underpins much of how the Internet does (and doesn't) function. Many of the policy issues that EFF works on are linked to security in deep ways including privacy and anonymity, DRM, censorship, and network neutrality.

EFF works directly on a wide range of security issues including increased deployment of cryptographic protocols through projects like Certbot; improving the security of those protocols; offering legal assistance to researchers through our Coders' Rights Project; offering practical security advice to activists through the surveillance self-defense project; and working on the development of new security standards.

Security Highlights

vintage keys in a web of nodes

Encrypting the Web

The web has largely switched from non-secure HTTP to the more secure HTTPS protocol. All web servers use one of these two protocols to get web pages from the server to your browser. HTTP has serious problems that make it vulnerable to eavesdropping and content hijacking. HTTPS fixes most of...

Coders' Rights Project

EFF's Coders' Rights Project protects programmers and developers engaged in cutting-edge exploration of technology. Security and encryption researchers help build a safer future for all of us using digital technologies, but too many legitimate researchers face serious legal challenges that prevent or inhibit their work. These challenges come from laws...

Security Updates

Election Verification Project Press Conference

Washington, DC - A national coalition of voting rights and computer security experts will hold a post-election press conference to provide a preliminary analysis of electronic voting problems and solutions, and their implications for increasing voters' confidence in the legitimacy of elections. Speakers will be: - Kim Alexander, California Voter...

It's the Paper, Stupid

The Associated Press reports that "a hand recount of ballots cast using optical scanning technology gave a Democrat enough extra votes to bump a Republican from victory in a county commissioner's race." According to the article, the scanning system somehow interpreted straight-Democratic Party votes as votes for Libertarians....

Sequoia Acknowledges E-voting Problems

One of the most serious problems with touchscreen voting machines reported on Election Day was the misrecording of votes, sometimes called "ghost voting" or "jumping votes." This is when a voter attempts to vote for one candidate and the machine indicates that he or she has voted for another, either...

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