Posted on 05/20/2015 4:11:56 PM PDT by markomalley
FBI Director James Comey fired back on Wednesday at Silicon Valley companies that are calling for stronger encryption of their products.
"Some prominent folks wrote a letter to the president yesterday that I frankly found depressing," Comey said in a discussion at Georgetown University Law Center, referring to a letter signed by Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and other companies, as well as civil-liberties groups and Internet-security experts. "Their letter contains no acknowledgment that there are societal costs to universal encryption."
There can be benefits to securing devices from hackers, Comey acknowledged, but he argued there are also "tremendous costs" to society by preventing law enforcement from obtaining evidence for investigations.
In their letter on Tuesday, the tech companies urged Obama to reject any proposal to weaken cybersecurity. The administration should instead focus on promoting wider adoption of strong encryption, the companies argued. "Strong encryption is the cornerstone of the modern information economy's security," they wrote.
Both Apple and Google recently made end-to-end encryption the default setting on their mobile operating systems.
But Comey warned that widespread encryption would put terrorists, spies, and criminals beyond the reach of law enforcement—even with court orders.
"I read this letter, and I think these folks don't see what I see or they're not fair-minded," Comey said Wednesday. "Either one of those things is depressing."
Michael Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, outlined a compromise solution last month in which the government would have one key to the product and the company would keep the other. That proposal would ensure appropriate government access to information without undermining security, Rogers argued.
But many security experts doubt that such a solution could work.
"Whether you call them 'front doors' or 'back doors,' introducing intentional vulnerabilities into secure products for the government's use will make those products less secure against other attackers," the companies and groups wrote in their letter this week.
Like they say, its not paranoia if they really are after you.
The FBI is shot through with nasty little fascists.
And government employees use Tempest computers to avoid data breaches.
The problem here is that in the last 25 or 30 years, our government has squandered the presumption of trust.
Those "societal costs" are part of the risks associated with living in a free society, and I willingly accept them.
They are FAR superior to the alternative.
Yes they sure have. There once was a time when you could trust the NSA and FBI. Now with the NSA spying on everyone and the FBI even evidence in their labs to get convictions, they have both become tools for fascism.
I hate that I cant go back and edit a post to make corrections.
Me thinks James Comey likes to sniff panties.
Mr. Comey, if you want to restore some trust with the Citizens release every E-mail Hillary sent from her personal email server. Because as Hillary said yesterday they aren’t hers. They are the governments.
I’m sorry, but the reason why Google and Apple and Microsoft are all going to no-key encryption is because your boys in the FBI started calling to hack any phone they came across, without any care in the world if it was a domestic violence case or terrorism. IF the FBI had actually LIMITED the requests to actual NATIONAL SECURITY concerns, I’m sure the opinion of the big three mobile OS creators would be far different.
4th Amendment to the United States Constitution:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
What could possibly be clearer? Sadly, we are NOT secure in our persons, houses, papers, and effects from our own government. Therefore, we need encryption to help retain our right!
Don’t like it, FBI? Go get a warrant!
for law enforcement?
is that right..
sounds like a mighty risky scheme
a slippery slope.. a jump into the abyss blindfolded
WayneS: “Those “societal costs” are part of the risks associated with living in a free society, and I willingly accept them.”
Me, too!
We can live in slightly more safety as slaves or take some small risks and be free. I choose the latter.
Not even the US Congress or the Supreme Court of the United States have the right to choose otherwise short of a constitutional amendment.
The whole world, even FR today, is.
Without God, you need a bigger and bigger and bigger Caesar to fill that unfillable void.
The results are ugly, they are socialistic, they are fascistic... and of course are ungodly.
Yep, you can’t put a price on it. But the 4th Amendment is worth trillions...
Is this bastard ok with glue on the envelopes and locks on our houses? Just thought I should check.
Give up your privacy so we can protect you.
Perhaps the world’s oldest con game.
“Both Apple and Google recently made end-to-end encryption the default setting on their mobile operating systems.”
They;ll hand it over. Both of them are sh*t buckets of obama worshippers who donated millions to the Dummycrats.
This is one issue where liberals and conservatives can agree. Here’s another: free speech.
Kirsten Powers is a liberal. Leftists are not liberals. Leftists are more like fascists or communists—big government folks who want to crush freedom. Liberals, on the other hand, are more generally aligned with the right on issues involving individual liberty.
Thank of the political spectrum not as Democrat versus Republican but as big government versus individual freedom. There are Republicans on the left and Democrats on the right. The “uni-party” is definitely on the left.
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