The EFF mourns the passing of dear friend, the technologist, activist, and cybersecurity specialist Peter Eckersley, with great sorrow. Peter spent a total of twelve years at EFF, eight of which he spent as the organization’s chief computer scientist. Peter played a major role in enhancing the security of the internet. He had just received a colon cancer diagnosis when he abruptly passed away on Friday.
It is impossible to overstate the significance of Peter’s effort in encrypting the web. Thanks to the work Peter started, transport layer encryption on the web is now so commonplace that it is essentially undetectable. The fact that he concluded we could and should encrypt the web is a credit to the audacity of his vision and to his sheer determination in pushing forward in the face of widespread scepticism and an apparently never-ending string of roadblocks and defeats. Without Peter’s unwavering enthusiasm, cheery cajoling tactics, and adaptable cunning, the project undoubtedly would not have begun, much less been so totally successful.
While simply encrypting the web would have sufficed, Peter was a key contributor to a number of ground-breaking initiatives to develop open-source, free technologies that safeguard users’ online privacy by encrypting connections with web servers. Projects including Panopticlick, HTTPS Everywhere, Switzerland, Certbot, Privacy Badger, and the SSL Observatory were among Peter’s privacy and security-related work at the EFF.
Let’s Encrypt, a free and automated certificate authority that went into public beta in 2015, was undoubtedly his most ambitious endeavour. Peter had been working on the project for a while, but he was able to mobilise support by using the well-known “smiley face” screenshot from the Edward Snowden revelations, which showed where SSL was added and withdrawn. In order for websites to provide secure connections to their users and shield them from network-based dangers, Let’s Encrypt encouraged the web’s move from non-secure HTTP connections that were susceptible to eavesdropping, content injection, and cookie stealing to the more secure HTTPS.
By 2017, 100 million certificates had been granted; by 2021, roughly 90% of all web page visits would be encrypted using HTTPS. Over 280 million websites have received over a billion certificates as of today.
Peter joined EFF in 2006 as a staff technologist, where his primary responsibility was to counsel the organization’s lawyers and activists to ensure that our work was always intelligent and technically sound. He completed his PhD while working at EFF, and his area of passion at the time was the discrepancy between copyright law and how the Internet operates. Peter and Seth Schoen, the EFF’s first staff technologist, soon realised that they could use existing internet infrastructure systems’ minor vulnerabilities to design technologies that would promote greater online security and freedom while also ensuring that everyone had access to the internet. They started working on technological projects, sought out and employed some of the most cutting-edge technologists on the internet, and eventually established the EFF’s Technology Projects Team as a significant part of the organization’s operations.
In order to inform users when their ISP was interfering with their online traffic, Peter helped launch a tool called Switzerland, which sparked a campaign for free wireless networks. Following a call from his buddy Aaron Swartz, he also exposed violations of net neutrality, argued for maintaining the openness of contemporary computer systems, and spearheaded the opposition to the SOPA/PIPA internet blacklist legislation. The list is endless and includes giving counsel to EFF lawyers and activists on various legal and lobbying initiatives.
We’ll never forget the twinkle in his eye as he began to discuss his most recent concept or his broad grin as he persisted in trying to find a method to get around challenges and frequently nearly physically carried his thoughts into existence. He has the talent to broaden the scope of any issue, providing a viewpoint that could assist in seeing patterns and solutions that were previously hidden. His unwavering dedication occasionally caused him to stomp on toes and gloss over issues, but his heart and vision were always focused on what would be in the best interest of all humanity. We’ll never forget the day he surreptitiously constructed a gazebo on the EFF roof, either, or his witty sense of style. To commemorate him one year, we made special red EFF-logo socks for the entire team.
In order to concentrate on researching and raising awareness of the deceptive use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Peter quit EFF in 2018. He established the AI Objectives Institute to ensure that AI is created and applied in a way that is beneficial to humanity. The institute is a partnership of top technology corporations, civil society, and academia.
Peter’s vision, boldness, and dedication improved both the web and the globe. He will be missed.