Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are calling on the National Science Foundation to require government agencies to use advanced encryption technology within the National Secure Data Service platform.
In a letter to NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, Portman and Wyden stated that a unique encryption key will ensure protection of Americans’ data, that which is used by federal offices for research.
“The NSDS platform will enable government agencies to collaborate by using data for research projects. This research will help policy makers to improve government programs, and will shed light on the effectiveness of federal policies,” they wrote. “However, the NSDS program will only live up to its promise if it facilitates research while protecting Americans’ data from hackers, foreign spies and misuse by government agencies.”
They suggested that instead of using a master key to NSDS, NSF should use multi-party computation so that organizations can safely share information for research projects without giving away sensitive data, such as details about U.S. veterans.
Portman and Wyden asked the foundation to respond to their recommendations by Jan. 31.
