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FBI CRYPTO-FIGHT: FBI Director James Comey is warning that efforts by Internet
companies to encrypt user data by default could put law enforcement at a
disadvantage. Speaking before the Brookings Institute, one of several
prominent Washington think tanks under fire in recent weeks for their ties to
foreign governments, the head of the FBI has taken his turn at rehabilitating
the bureau’s image in the wake of the past year’s national security leaks that
rocked the nation’s intelligence community and bolstered the convictions of
privacy advocates.
“Both companies are run by good people, responding to what they perceive is a
market demand,” said Comey, “but the place they are leading us is one we
shouldn’t go to without careful thought and debate as a country.”
Apple and Google’s recent decisions to encrypt user data by default limit the
possibility of effective cooperation between the tech companies and law
enforcement agencies, Comey warned, stating his belief that public discourse
surrounding privacy and security in the post-Snowden era have swung too far in
the direction of fear and mistrust of government.
“We understand the private sector’s need to remain competitive in the global
marketplace. And it isn’t our intent to stifle innovation or undermine U.S.
companies,” said Comey.
“But we have to find a way to help these companies understand what we need, why
we need it, and how they can help, while still protecting privacy rights and
providing network security and innovation. We need our private sector partners
to take a step back, to pause, and to consider changing course,” he said.
Comey’s fears that encryption will help criminals is not a new position for
federal law enforcement. For years, in fact, the bureau has been warning of a
problem it calls “Going Dark,” that new technologies would outpace the legal
tools law enforcement agencies use to catch criminals.
In a 2011 speech to a House Judiciary Subcommittee, then-general counsel of the
FBI Valeria Caproni called for Congress to update the Communications Assistance
for Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which requires telecommunications companies and
broadband providers to cooperate with court-ordered law enforcement electronic
surveillance, to include new technology companies.
Comey, who ended an illegal surveillance program while he was acting director of
the Justice Department during the Bush administration, reiterated that need and
desire to bring Internet companies under CALEA.
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“Current law governing the interception of communications
requires telecommunication carriers and broadband providers to build
interception capabilities into their networks for court-ordered
surveillance,” said Comey.
“But that law…was enacted 20 years ago — a lifetime in the Internet
age. And it doesn’t cover new means of communication. Thousands of
companies provide some form of communication service, and most are
not required by statute to provide lawful intercept capabilities to
law enforcement,” he said.
Civil liberties advocates criticized his agenda, however, saying
it places taxpayers and businesses at risk of being hacked by
criminals and foreign governments.
Nuala O’Connor, president of the Center for Democracy & Technology,
said in a statement that weakening the “the security of smartphones
and trusted communications infrastructure” shouldn’t be one of the
“many legitimate ways” law enforcement can use to obtain the data
stored on those devices.
“Companies are providing more encryption because it is exactly the
type of protection the public wants and needs,” said O’Connor.
“Director Comey is wrong in asserting that law enforcement cannot do
its job while respecting Americans’ privacy rights. In fact, federal
law explicitly protects the right of companies to add encryption
with no backdoors,” said Laura W. Murphy, director of the Washington
Legislative Office of the American Civil Liberties Union, in a media
statement.
Calling on other tech companies to follow Apple and Google’s lead,
Murphy said, “We applaud tech leaders like Apple and Google that are
unwilling to weaken security for everyone to allow the government
yet another tool in its already vast surveillance arsenal.”
“We hope that others in the tech industry follow their lead and
realize that customers put a high value on privacy, security and
free speech,” she said.
Contact Josh Peterson at jpeterson@watchdog.org. Follow Josh on
Twitter at @jdpeterson
[This
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