Edward Snowden at the Swiss Cyber Security Days

With the engagement of Edward Snowden, the Swiss Cyber Security Days succeeded in a special coup. As whistleblower & cybersecurity expert Edward Snowden reports in his new memoir "Permanent Record", the former CIA officer and advisor to the National Security Agency (NSA) risked everything to expose the US government's mass surveillance system. SCSD Program Director Nicolas Mayencourt makes the case that Edward Snowden powerfully demonstrated that, contrary to its original promise, the Internet has been expanded in recent decades into an Internet of government surveillance. "From Snowden we want to know how he sees the development in the past decade, and what needs to be done to get back on track with the initial promise, and whether there is any chance at all to do so," Mayencourt explains the whistleblower's involvement.

Edward Snowden live from Moscow

One of the most passionate and authoritative voices on privacy and cybersecurity, Snowden continues to warn about the growing threats of our digital age. Speaking live from Moscow, he discusses technologies and practices that have created "the most effective means of social control in the history of our species." "Everything we do now will remain forever. Not because we want to remember, but because we can't forget anymore," Snowden says, alluding to the central theme of Permanent Record. "Helping to create this system is my greatest regret."

The whistleblower shocked the world in the summer of 2013 when he broke with the intelligence establishment and revealed that the U.S. government was pursuing an unprecedented system of mass surveillance that had the potential to capture every single phone call, text message and email of every person on Earth. Fearing arrest, he fled to Hong Kong, where he
met secretly with journalists from The Guardian newspaper and filmmaker Laura Poitras. Poitras later won an Academy Award for the documentary "Citizenfour." He was also the focus of the critically acclaimed Oliver Stone film "Snowden."

The Guardian and The Washington Post were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their role in reporting the NSA leaks. Snowden saw the honor as "a vindication" for his efforts to bring the secret surveillance programs to light. Snowden himself has received numerous honors for his public engagement, including the Right Livelihood Award,
the German Whistleblower Award, the Ridenhour Award for Truth-Finding, and the Carl von Ossietzky Medal of the International League for Human Rights. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Passionate advocate of privacy

Since finding asylum in Russia, Snowden has been in the headlines as a passionate and authoritative champion of privacy, civil liberties and cybersecurity during what he calls "the greatest redistribution of power since the Industrial Revolution." As a result of Snowden's revelations, both the U.S. and U.K. governments challenged their surveillance laws in court, leading to new laws in both countries. Internet companies have responded to public outrage over privacy concerns by making encryption standard. Snowden continues to sound the alarm about mass surveillance and data collection by both governments and corporations.

Global Hacking and National Sovereignty

In addition to guest star Snowden, the Swiss Cyber Security Days (SCSD), the most important meeting on cyber security in Switzerland, will bring together key decision-makers and experts in the field of cyber security on March 10 and 11. During the two days dedicated to national and global cyber security, Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer, the head of the Armed Forces, Thomas Süssli, the French Cyber Defence Commander Didier Tisseyre, and numerous organizations such as Interpol, the WEF, the Geneva Center for Security Policy and the Cyber Peace Institute will be present. The fully virtual 2021 edition will focus on global hacking and national sovereignty, with a March 11 theme dedicated to SME security.

Register online now: www.swisscybersecuritydays.ch