Tech Giants Will Block Kazakhstan's Web Surveillance Efforts Again

Apple, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla have teamed up to block the Kazakhstan government's attempts to force its citizens to install a "national security certificate" on every internet-capable device in the country. "That government-issued root certificate would allow authorities to keep tabs on people's online traffic, essentially becoming a back door to access citizens' data," reports Engadget. From the report: In its announcement, Mozilla said it was recently informed that ISPs in Kazakhstan have recently started telling customers that they're required to install the digital certificate to be able to access foreign websites. ZDNet reported earlier this month that Kazakh IPS have been cutting people's access to websites like Google, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Netflix unless they install the certificate.

When users in Kazakhstan who complied with their ISPs' demand try to access websites on their devices, they'll get an error telling them that the certificate shouldn't be trusted. The companies are also encouraging those users to research the use if VPN or the Tor Browser for web browsing and to change the passwords for their accounts. The Kazakhstan's government made a similar attempt back in 2015 and then again in 2019, but tech giants did what they're doing now to put a stop to those plans.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.