A senior FBI official who testified to Congress during its battle with Apple over access to a locked iPhone has said that end-to-end encryption ‘infects’ law enforcement.
The remark was made as Apple and other tech companies warn of the danger of compromising strong encryption after the Australian government passed a law which would require them to help access encrypted messages on demand …
The WSJ quotes FBI executive assistant director Amy Hess.
Apple is one of nine companies to have told the Australian government that banning end-to-end encryption places its citizens at risk of having their personal data exposed.
Governments want access to user data to solve crimes and track potential threats. Silicon Valley companies, fearful that this access could be misused for spying or exploited by hackers, continue to build products that are so securely encrypted that the tech companies themselves are sometimes unable to access the data on them. And many tech companies are resisting any efforts to weaken their encryption capabilities.
The law passed in Australia is vague, stating that tech companies must help the government gain access to encrypted messages, but without defining the scope of that assistance. In the case of end-to-end encrypted messages, it wouldn’t be possible for the companies to help, as they would have no access to the encryption keys.
Apple said at the time that the ‘broad and vague terms’ of the law could be interpreted in many different ways, one of which would be a requirement to weaken encryption. There is also concern that the Australian law could set a precedent for the US.
This concern was echoed by a think tank.
The British government has previous said that Apple ‘cannot get away with’ offering apps with end-to-end encryption. Both Messages and FaceTime are end-to-end encrypted.
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