Encryption dates back to the Founding Fathers and the Bill of Rights. Now, the United States National Security Agency is breaking and undermining core encryption technologies that power the Internet, saying it’s being done for our own protection from terrorists. But are we sacrificing our freedoms for fear? Matthew Green discusses the campaign waged by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies to weaken commercial encryption standards to make our communications more accessible.

Matthew Green is an Assistant Research Professor of Computer Science at the Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on computer security and cryptography, and particularly the way that cryptography can be used to promote individual privacy. His work includes techniques to securely access medical databases, enhance the anonymity of Bitcoin, and to analyze deployed security systems. Prior to joining the Johns Hopkins faculty he served as a Senior Technical Staff Member at AT&T Laboratories.