The risks relating to PRISM came as no surprise to privacy and security specialists such as Casper Bowden, independent privacy and surveillance expert and former Chief Privacy Advisor to Microsoft. In fact, last year he co-authored a report to the European Parliament outlining the risks posed by FISA 702 and associated loopholes in EU Data Protection law.

Today’s article on ComputerWorldUK takes the form of a question and answer session with Bowden, exploring some of the elements of FISA which have been alarmingly highlighted by the revelations of PRISM. It also seeks to respond to the question of how we can be protected against widespread cyber-surveillance and makes concrete proposals. The interview was conducted in February, before PRISM’s existence became known, but as he commented at the Open Rights Group conference last week, the analysis is as relevant today as it ever was.