Urges Policymakers and Legislators to Reform Section 2101 of DCMA to Allow Cybersecurity Tools to Be Created and Used for Good Faith Security Research

Chicago, IL June 23, 2021 — NowSecure, the leading standards-based mobile app security and privacy software company, announced today support of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) statement on potential use of Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to suppress software and tools used for good faith cybersecurity research. Recent actions and considerations have led to the EFF and an industry group of leading security researchers and tool makers to release this statement.

Read the full EFF industry statement here.

As noted in the EFF statement:

“We, the undersigned, believe that legal threats against the creation of tools that let people conduct security research actively harm our cybersecurity. DMCA Section 1201 should be used in such circumstances with great caution and in consideration of broader security concerns, not just for competitive economic advantage. We urge policymakers and legislators to reform Section 1201 to allow security research tools to be provided and used for good faith security research. In addition, we urge companies and prosecutors to refrain from using Section 1201 to unnecessarily target tools used for security research.”

Dedicated to the mission of saving the world from unsafe mobile apps, NowSecure is a leading provider of mobile app security testing tools, training and services to hundreds of customers protecting millions of mobile apps and billions of mobile app users around the world. NowSecure supports the creation of commercial and popular open-source security tools including Frida, Radare, Capstone, MiTMProxy and others and works with leading independent standards bodies such as the OWASP Foundation, ioXt and NIST to develop specifications, best practices and provide expertise.

“With over a decade in mobile forensics, mobile security research and cybersecurity tools development, NowSecure has helped the industry substantially raise the bar on mobile app security, protecting users and mobile app developers,” said David Weinstein, CTO of NowSecure. “The cybersecurity research community is a vibrant, dedicated group of experts contributing to the greater good, creating tools and sharing best practices. We believe that it is important to protect legitimate security researchers and toolmakers who help protect users around the world.”

Other industry-leading security organizations supporting the EFF statement include Bishop Fox, Bitwatcher, Black Hills Information Security, Bugcrowd, Cybereason, Cybersecurity Coalition, Digital Ocean, disclose.io, Grand Idea Studio, GRIMM, HackerOne, Hex-Rays, iFixIt, Luta Security, McAfee, NCC Group, Rapid7, Red Siege, SANS Technology Institute, SCYTHE and Social Exploits LLC. 

Learn more about NowSecure at www.nowsecure.com.

NowSecure Mobile Security Advocate

Tim Neighbors