A new bill would try to make tools like Zoom and Teams work together securely

A brand new proposal from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) would require videoconferencing and messaging instruments utilized by the federal authorities to have the ability to talk with one another, even when made by completely different corporations. It could additionally implement excessive safety requirements for presidency collaboration instruments, together with end-to-end encryption.

The Safe and Interoperable Authorities Collaboration Expertise Act, a dialogue draft shared solely with The Verge, would make it so {that a} authorities person on Groups, for instance, would have the ability to speak to a colleague at a distinct company utilizing Zoom. Whereas the invoice would solely implement the requirement for instruments utilized by the federal government, if handed, it may push the trade towards higher interoperability throughout their person bases.

Right here’s how it will work: the invoice would direct the Common Companies Administration (GSA) to compile a listing of collaboration know-how options that the federal government makes use of — together with videoconferencing, text-based messaging, file sharing, scheduling, and dwell doc modifying. Then, the Nationwide Institute of Requirements and Expertise (NIST) would give you a listing of interoperability requirements for these options. The requirements would even have to incorporate end-to-end encryption the place attainable to guard authorities communications from overseas surveillance. On the similar time, they’d even have to verify the federal government stays compliant with federal record-keeping guidelines.

The trade would have 4 years from when NIST identifies the interoperability requirements to grow to be compliant in the event that they wish to promote their instruments to the federal authorities. Each different yr, a GSA and Workplace of Administration and Price range working group would evaluation the know-how utilized by the federal authorities to counsel updates to the requirements. On prime of that, the Division of Homeland Safety can be tasked with cybersecurity opinions of extensively used collaboration know-how instruments within the federal authorities.

The invoice underscores considerations within the authorities of great safety dangers that might come up by means of know-how distributors. It comes shortly after the DHS launched a blistering report that found Microsoft could have prevented a Chinese language hack of US authorities emails. It blamed a “cascade of safety failures” at Microsoft for the incident.

In a press release on the invoice, Wyden referenced Microsoft’s huge attain inside the federal authorities. “It’s time to interrupt the chokehold of huge tech corporations like Microsoft on authorities software program, set excessive cybersecurity requirements and reap the numerous advantages of a aggressive market,” he mentioned. Wyden added that “Vendor lock-in, bundling, and different anticompetitive practices outcome within the authorities spending huge sums of cash on insecure software program.”

The invoice has gained the backing of teams, together with Accountable Tech, Demand Progress, Combat for the Future, and encrypted electronic mail and cloud storage supplier Proton. Digital rights activist Cory Doctorow additionally voiced his assist, sharing in a press release by means of Wyden’s workplace that “Interoperability — the power to plug one thing new right into a know-how, with or with out permission from the producer — is the important thing to defeating Huge Tech.”