Twitter backs Encrypt All The Things campaign to beat government spies

Twitter has joined a raft of internet companies promoting the importance of encryption tools in the light of government spying revealed last year.
The firm has given its backing to a campaign launched by digital rights group Access Now called Encrypt All The Things. Other firms such as DuckDuckGo and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have also lent their names to the initiative.
The aim is to raise the importance of implementing strong security measures to stop any attempts to monitor or siphon data.
Access Now said: “In the wake of the continued disclosures regarding government mass surveillance, the majority of the reform conversation has revolved around the need for increased transparency.
“It’s time to expand the public discourse about how to properly secure data and defend privacy. Robust encryption is the next step toward protecting our networks and data from unauthorised surveillance.“
The campaign centres around the Data Security Action Plan, which covers seven areas that firms, especially those operating online, should take to protect their data:

• Implement strict encryption measures on all network traffic.
• Execute verifiable practices to effectively secure user data stored at rest.
• Maintain the security of credentials, and provide robust authentication safeguards.
• Initiate a notification and patching system to promptly address known, exploitable vulnerabilities.
• Use algorithms that follow security best practices.
• Enable or support use of client-to-client encryption.
• Provide user education tools on the importance of digital security hygiene.

“These protections will help prevent unauthorised access, and move state actors toward using proper, legal channels to obtain personal information,” it added.
The campaign comes amid the ongoing fallout from the PRISM spying revelations that started last summer when Edward Snowden released a raft of documents outlining the scale of government surveillance.