Internet security expert Bruce Schneier will discuss increased computer connectivity and Internet dependence Wednesday, May 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the Erb Memorial Union ballroom.

Schneier’s talk, “Internet, Security and Power,” will explore the relationship between vulnerability and security online. He recently reviewed the Snowden documents and and did a close examination of the National Security Agency’s Internet surveillance, saying it is far more extensive than he expected.

“The Internet has become essential to our lives,” Schneier said, “and it has been subverted into a gigantic surveillance platform.”

Schneier holds a master’s degree in computer science from American University in Washington, D.C., and has written 12 books on cryptography and computer security. He also is the founder and chief technology officer of BT Managed Security Solutions, a company that sells managed computer network services. Schneier is a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet Society at Harvard Law School and program fellow at the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute.

The lecture is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a book sale and signing by Schneier. The event is sponsored by the Oregon Humanities Center.

―By Chloe Huckins, UO Public Affairs Communications intern