Tech Musing #3: Microsoft Sues DoJ Over Spying Gag Orders

Taylor Lorenson
4/18/2016
MIS 441

Article Link: http://www.technewsworld.com/story/83372.html

Summary:

Last week, Microsoft filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice that challenges the gag orders to obtain private information about Microsoft's customers. The Department of Justice will be able to review any personal data stored in Microsoft's database on the requested customers. The gag order is more significant than requesting information about a customer because when a gag order is received, the customer is not notified about the information leak. Microsoft has been required by the government to remain silent regarding 2,576 legal demands. 68% of these demands have no end date, meaning that Microsoft will never be able to notify the customers of the monitoring. This is Microsoft's 4th lawsuit against the Department of Justice in the last 18 months. One attorney suggests that an update to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act should be considered. According to Attorney Alex Abdo, "It should require government notification; impose the high standard that the Constitution requires before law enforcement can impose a gag order on a company; and limit the duration of gag orders."

Relevance to 441:

This lawsuit relates directly to cyber security and privacy; a topic we have discussed multiple times in class. One thing that is important to note here is that this lawsuit is coming shortly after the FBI-Apple fiasco that was unraveling recently in Silicon Valley. The government realizes the power that cyber monitoring has, but companies have an obligation to keep their customer's data secure. It results in a stand-off between the two entities, but the government usually has the upper hand because they are more powerful. New conditions should be constructed to ensure that the government is not spying on citizens that are not considered to be a person of interest.

Important to MIS Students:

Cyber security is important to MIS students because cyber crime is a fast and growing concern that has the potential to impact the entire world. MIS students and the rest of the population that uses technology should be aware that they could be monitored at any time without notification. Personally, I do not mind the gag orders that the government has requested because it has the potential to save lives or money. If only 2,576 gag orders have been issued out of Microsoft's hundreds of millions of customers, the chances are that the customer's being watched have a valid reason for being monitored. Yes, I understand that this could be a gateway to exploit the average citizen's information, but I have faith that organizations will continue their best efforts to keep our data secure.