Petraeus Scandal Reveals Limits of Email Privacy
CIA Director David Petraeus speaks to members of a Senate (Select) Intelligence hearing on “World Wide Threats” on Capitol Hill in Washington in this January 31, 2012 file photo. CIA Director David Petraeus has submitted a letter of resignation to President Barack Obama, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on November 9, 2012. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Files (UNITED STATES – Tags: POLITICS HEADSHOT)
The ongoing investigations concerning Generals David Petraeus and John Allen offer insights into the security of online communication and the media’s access to military officials, says Zeynep Tufekci a visiting scholar at Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy.
“The personal accounts we all use — our Gmail accounts, our Yahoo accounts, I think most people would be shocked to learn how little legal protection they have,” Tufekci says. “This is what the scandal is revealing, is how little protection those communications have from surveillance.”