Joint Press Release: ISOC-CH and p≡p foundation engaged for pretty Easy privacy (p≡p)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Geneva and Zurich, July 3rd, 2017
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Dear members of the press,
The Internet Society Switzerland Chapter (ISOC-CH) and the Swiss p≡p foundation are happy to announce that they teamed up on documenting the pretty Easy privacy (p≡p) protocols, which can be used to create Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs), operating automatically for all Internet users.
Since the 2013 Snowden revelations of mass surveillance, the level of trust in Internet services has plunged. While discussions around privacy protection have advanced considerably, little progress has been achieved in designing tools that can be used on a daily basis by citizens (most importantly activists, journalists and whistleblowers) around the world.
The pretty Easy privacy (pEp or p≡p) project has to goal to radically ease the use of already existing open standards and their corresponding tools (like GnuPG, based on the OpenPGP standard) for end-to-end encryption, such us to allow for mass encryption.
The p≡p project focuses primarily on written digital communications, with the goal of making end-to-end encryption of messages (starting with email) the norm instead of the exception. This is achieved by automating all steps necessary for regular Internet users, such as to provide a hassle-free, zero-touch experience to everyone. That is, instead of hoping that people start to follow step-by-step guides to have their privacy protected, we engage in writing protocols and through that to foster the creation of tools, so as to have the Privacy by Default principles we envision with p≡p realized. Privacy must not just be good, but also easy to use.
We are very happy to furtherly announce that we received a Beyond the Net (BNet) large grant of USD 30,000 from the umbrella organization of the Internet Society (ISOC), for which we are very grateful. Thanks to this support, we are strengthened to professionally engage on our mission of formalizing (and help in standardizing) p≡p.
A first and general draft was already published outlining the basic operational principles of p≡p:
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-birk-pep/
For a period of at least two years, ISOC-CH and p≡p foundation, supported by the ISOC BNet Programme and with additional funding from the p≡p foundation, will work together for the advancement of p≡p through contributions to the Internet community (via the Internet Engineering Task Force, IETF). During this time frame, we will attend IETF events and organize six events throughout Switzerland to raise awareness on the very important topic of defending our human right to privacy – not just though political actions, but also via technical means.
We are open to answer any particular questions you might have.
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Contact ISOC-CH: Roxana Radu
email: chair@new.isoc.ch
tel: +41 789 070 635 (English, French)
Website: https://www.isoc.ch/
Contact p≡p foundation: Hernâni Marques
email: hernani.marques@pep.foundation
(PGP: 3173 3E0C 598D 3A1C F709 55D6 CB57 3865 2768 F7E9)
tel: +41 79 945 48 85 (English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese)
Website: https://pep.foundation/