Freedom Of Communication

& Egypt Future

IEEE ITW Conference Alexandria 2012

Prepared & Presented by:

Osama M. Hijji

Agenda

Briefing Briefing
Introduction. Freedom of communication. Examples of violation.

Presentation Summary

1 2 3

What is the problem ?........ 5 Slides

Bachelor of Computer Engineering, AAST, 1998. Head of ITD Security, Infrastructure and Engineering, Egypt MSC, Orange, FT. CISM, ITIL, CPM, CPA. Totals:

What is the solution ? ..... 5 Slides

Solution. Role of the state.

Conclusion ......... 2 Slides

Implications. Conclusion Questions.

30 Minutes 17 Slides

Disclaimer
This presentation reflects the opinions of its author and is not related by any mean to IEEE and Orange business Services of France Telecom group.

Egypt Future and a year to remember

This presentation is not about firewalls, phising, DOS attacks or SQL injection Nor it is about any technique used in the warfare in cyberspace which become an integral part of our political battleground This presentation is about the future of Egypt, specifically about a value and a concept we should be introducing to our tomorrow and that is better seen from engineers perspective 2011 & 2012 were very special year for Egypt It witnessed the first Electronic Revolution and our first steps toward democracy It witnessed the transformation of communication means and mediums into weapons of political ... Cyberspace become a battle round and political power wishes therefore to control it All weapons where used even cyber-crime technique where used against cyber-activism It witnessed use of security contingency techniques on unprecedented levels (ex: disconnecting Egypt from internet)

There is a lot we can learn and share but

Above all we must understand Egyptian Engineers in general and engineers working in ICT in particular has an active role to play in creating the principles and values of tomorrows Egypt not just in technology A better Egypt hopefully
Wael Ghoneim, Nobel prize nominee & iconic figure of youth revolution is a living proof of our need to view Security in general & InfoSec in particular differently.

Egypt Commitments

The Egypt we want is place that promotes and respects freedom, justice and human rights Egypt as part of united nation signed & acknowledges applying the Declaration of Human Rights in which the article 19 states: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. The declaration we acknowledge considers communication (Transmission and reception) through any media and even through any frontier a human right. This is where we want to be; to have in our constitution the Freedom Of Communication which includes the freedoms of speech, opinion, and expression and the right to transmit and receive those through any media.

What is Freedom Of Communication?

FOC is people right to access and use communication means and mediums to circulate (send and receive) content. Freedom of communication is an enabler of freedom of speech and without FOC the FOS is handicapped. FOC is the default and restricting it is an exception that must be managed by laws and regulation.
Freedom of Speech
Freedom of communication Freedom of Speech

What is meant by Communication means and mediums?

FOC Violation Examples

Violation of FOC can take several forms ; two categories of infringement can be identified: Active Measures: Jamming TV signals. DOS attacks on websites. Thugs attacks on protest locations. Confiscation of printed materials. Preventive Measures: Denying access to SMS service. Denying access to websites (URLF). Denying access to internet. Denying access to protest mediums. Confiscation of printing paper.

What is the solution?

Freedom of communication must be introduced along with traditional values such as freedom of belief, freedom of speech and freedom of expression as well as progressive values such as right for education, and right for health to the Egyptian new constitution. Engineers more than anyone should promote and lobby for this idea whether to the constitution writing al committee or to the people.

The role of the state must be well defined and organized to be compliant with the clear emerging need of Freedom of communication.

Role of the State (1)

The state should not control the communication including not to play the role of Communication service provider, especially where it monopolizes services. The state role must change to a Regulatory rather than a Service Provider role. The communication regulatory authority must be an independent council and not a sub-unit of the government. Extreme/Emergency measures as Cutting communication services must be regulated properly including but not limited to giving this authority only to people assembly

Role of the State (2)

Service Providing should be left to the market to create business. The state should not allow monopoly of any communication service. State owned companies (Like Telecom Egypt) can be privatized and subjected to public offering. We need to conduct a large legislative effort to put down laws for privacy, intellectual property and communication egulations

Role of the State (3)

Example on precedent model from Egypt!: The proposed did happen before successfully in what used to be ARENTO the state owned mobile operator which become later MobiNil. Monopoly was not allowed and 2 more licenses where created (bought by Vodafone and Etisalat, and the state role become purely regulatory and represented by NTRA. The above created thousands of jobs, business opportunities, (not just the 3 mobile operators but companies around them too). The state authority and people rights in the service were never compromised, actually they are better than state provided service in fixed telephoney.

Moving forward

IMPLICATION & CONCLUSION

Does FOC endanger national security?

We need to keep in mind that FOC is already applied in US and EU, it did not jeopardize the security of the state and in fact these countries are much secure than us with our current measures.

We must understand that our national security is tightly related to democracy, and democracy is impossible without freedom of communication.
FOC does not deny the authority of the state over telecommunication means mediums nor that it may cause a partial or total unavailability on exceptional bases as long it is in the best interest of the people and is compliant with the law. The council that will supervise communication and most likely media and journalism must ensure as well it is secure. Right now we are far from being secure in spite of a Security Freak policy that was applied by the state.

Security The right focus (1)?

Desperately Security was never taken seriously because its main focus was never the people. Here are some examples of the failures to maintain a proper level security: We are largely exposed to the SPOF threat due to centralizing international access in Ramsis Central. Our infrastructure is by design due to need for control is largely not resilient. There is no routing between major ISPs.

Security The right focus (2)?

There is chain of dysfunction in both judicial and legal systems. A large part of Egypt internet access and almost all international telephony access is centralized in Ramsis Exchange Central. Local ISP Peering has been in place since 2002 However the switch providing this facility is in Ramsis Central! Many of the state information systems are far from being secure.

Behind the Iron Curtain

Was the internet cut firm? Well No Network & Security engineers on a personal basis actually helped to break through the blockade using various ways:
Spreading proxification techniques. Using the only ISP that was still working. Using VSAT combined with WIFI connections in several spots (Tahrir notably) to provide photo and status updates. Using international dial-up old telephony based internet service. Using speak to tweet service. Independent Network & Security engineers implemented peering between various ISPs.
Look closer, the traffic is extremely low but it is not a zero!

Conclusion
We need to promote the FOC concept to people. We need to promote the FOC concept to our political representatives and lobby to include in the constitution. FOC does not endanger security. FOC should be regulated by an independent council and the state should denounce control over communication mediums and means