The issue of government access to private encrypted data has been in the public eye since the San Bernardino shootings in December, 2015. When an iPhone was found the FBI requested that Apple write code to override the phone’s security features. The FBI was ultimately able to decrypt the phone without Apple’s assistance. However, the ...
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter came out against supporting encryption back-doors at a conference panel on Wednesday. At the RSA information security conference in San Francisco, Carter told a packed room that he supported strong encryption and thought back-door access to encrypted communication as unrealistic. During his talk on the Apple vs. FBI case, which ...
Tech companies and privacy advocates have been in a stalemate with government officials over how encrypted communication affects the ability of federal investigators to monitor terrorists and other criminals. A new study by Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society convened experts from all sides to put the issue in context. The report concluded that ...
A group of high tech corporate powerhouses has gathered together to protest a law proposed by the U.K. government that would allow an array of legal and intelligence agencies the ability to access computer data through backdoors and decryption. Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo submitted a letter, dated December 21, 2015, to the parliamentary ...
Microsoft, Google and Facebook are urging U.K. officials not to undermine encryption as they work on laws that would authorize forcing communications service providers to decrypt customer traffic. In a joint written submission to the U.K. Parliament the three U.S.-based companies lay down several areas of concern, which, if not addressed, they say could damage ...
The Dutch government has officially declared its opposition to any restrictions on the development or use of encryption products, even as Dutch lawmakers are weighing legislation that could mandate backdoor government access to encrypted communications. In a 4 January 2016 letter to the Dutch parliament, the head of the Ministry of Security and Justice, Ard ...
Yesterday, on Lawfare, FBI Director James Comey laid out his concern that the growing adoption of strong encryption technologies will frustrate law enforcement’s ability to conduct investigations — what he calls the “Going Dark” problem. The gist of Comey’s position is this: He recognizes encryption is important to security and privacy, but believes we are ...
