An imperfect lock
On Encryption
Adding a “back door” for government to access encrypted communications would leave them vulnerable to security breaches by others.
The horrific Paris terror attacks have sparked a longsimmering debate about governmental access to encrypted communications. Among others, Director of Central Intelligence John Brennan and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., have waded in, saying that a lack of law enforcement access to encrypted phones and communications has empowered terrorists.
There are more than a few problems with this assertion.
First of all: None of these critics has been able to offer any proof that encrypted technology contributed to intelligence failures before the Paris attacks.
Contacted for an explanation, Feinstein staffer Tom Mentzer said, “The senator believes the issue of encryption is important with regard to use by terrorists in general,” and noted that Feinstein has long expressed this view.
That’s true — U.S. officials have been clamoring to give law enforcement easier access to encrypted communications for many years.
But the tech community has fought back, and for many good reasons. Encryption underpins many of the Internet’s security features, and adding a “back door” for government would also empower criminals and hackers. Data breaches, identity theft, and other related ills of contemporary Internet life would get worse.
Plus, most companies are quick to offer law enforcement assistance when it’s requested.
Meanwhile, terrorists would be highly motivated to seek out safer forms of communication — and they’d find them quickly and easily.
They can use products created in countries that aren’t controlled by U.S. laws and therefore aren’t subject to U.S. law enforcement demands.
They can create their own encryption apps — something that a massive international terrorist group like the Islamic State certainly has the resources to achieve.
Finally, they can use the simplest avoidance technique of all — revert back to walkie-talkies, couriers and in-person messages.
U.S. officials have focused on encryption as a magic bullet for our terrorism problems, when the reality is that agencies usually fail for reasons that have nothing to do with their ability to access information. Building in security “back doors” won’t change this — but it would make the Internet far less secure for the rest of us.