Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
FBI chief: Encrypted phones to foil probes
WASHINGTON — FBI Director James Comey warned Thursday against a push by technology companies to encrypt cellphone data and operating systems, arguing that murder cases could be stalled, suspects could walk free and justice could be thwarted by a locked phone or an encrypted hard drive.
Privacy advocates and technology experts called the concerns exaggerated and little more than recycled arguments the government has raised against encryption since the early 1990s.
Likening encrypted data to a safe that cannot be cracked or a closet door that won’t open, Comey said the move by tech companies to protect user communications in the name of privacy is certain to impede a wide range of criminal investigations.
New legislation to allow law enforcement to intercept communications is needed at a time of advancing technology and new forms of communication, he said.
“We have the legal authority to intercept and access communications from information pursuant to court order, but we often lack the technical ability to do so,” Comey said in a Brookings Institution speech.
Comey cited particular cases in which he said access to cellphone data aided in a criminal investigation. But in a question-and-answer session after the speech, he said he could not cite particular instances in which someone was rescued from danger who wouldn’t have been had law enforcement been blocked from that information.
“Logic tells me there are going to be cases like that,” Comey said.
The speech followed recent announcements by Apple and Google that their new operating systems will be encrypted, or protected with coding by default. Law enforcement officials could still intercept conversations but might not be able to access call data, contacts, photos and email stored on smartphones.
While the companies’ actions are understandable, Comey said, “the place they are leading us is one we shouldn’t go to without careful thought and debate.”
“Encryption isn’t just a technical feature. It’s a marketing pitch. But it will have very serious consequences for law enforcement and national security agencies at every level,” Comey said.
He acknowledged a rise in public mistrust of government in the year since former National Security Agency systems analyst Edward Snowden revealed secret government surveillance programs. But he said the public was wrong to believe that law enforcement can access any and all communications with the flip of a switch.
“It may be true in the movies or on TV. It is simply not the case in real life,” he said.
Comey also said the FBI was committed to a “frontdoor” approach, through court orders and under strict oversight, to intercepting communications. Privacy advocates have long been concerned that “back doors” that allow the government to covertly access data also would create openings for hackers to exploit.