US Promotes Network to Foil Digital Spying

The State Department provided $2.8 million to a team of American hackers, community activists and software geeks to develop a system, called a mesh network, as a way for dissidents abroad to communicate more freely and securely than they can on the open Internet. A mesh network is a physically separate, local network made up of cleverly programmed antennas scattered about on rooftops. One target that is sure to start debate is Cuba; the United States Agency for International Development has pledged $4.3 million to create mesh networks there. Pilot projects financed in part by the State Department proved that the mesh could serve residents in poor neighborhoods in Detroit and function as a digital lifeline in part of Brooklyn during Hurricane Sandy. But just like their overseas counterparts, Americans increasingly cite fears of government snooping in explaining the appeal of mesh networks.