Many years ago, when I first logged on to the internet, I was struck by something that may be described as a spiritual experience. Here was this place, where we were all connected, containing endless information for all of us to tap into.
Later, I realized that we cannot take this great human experience for granted. As security hacks have increased, some governments and commercial forces have used the security threat as an opportunity to demand control of user data, bandwidth, and privacy, justifying the actions as a way for the “good guys to control the bad.”
But who can determine who is good or bad in the long term? The answer is that nobody can. And therefore, any control must be considered as bad. The internet needs to stay open. It is just how it has to be.
Yubico’s contributions to a future open internet are only smaller components in the bigger ecosystem. But they are not less important. With simple, open, and low-cost authentication and encryption technologies, we encourage individuals and organizations to own and control their own online credentials, including encryption secrets and the personal data tied to their online identity.
We are also honored to have many of the leading non-profit organizations dedicated to an open internet using our products, including Freedom of the Press, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and The ISC Project, which we presented in a recent case study. As the Yubico team is also great supporters of their work, Yubico often donates or discounts YubiKeys to organizations in this field.
Our open internet is experiencing challenges, but there are solutions. We are not letting fraudsters, governments, or commercial interests limit the potential of what the internet is and what it can be!