Everyone bored to death by DoJ’s latest call for crypto backdoors

Everyone bored to death by DoJ’s latest call for crypto backdoors

Encryption is too important to leave to government. "Instead, his not-so-subtle call was for legislation to force unwilling tech companies to backdoor their systems in a non-specific way that would nonetheless afford access to decrypted data. Though he euphemistically termed this “responsible encryption”. And tried to claim it would not, in fact, be a backdoor. (“Responsible encryption is achievable. Responsible encryption can involve effective, secure encryption that allows access only with judicial authorization,” er, so a backdoor then?) At the same time as having the brass neck to claim: “We at the Department of Justice understand and encourage strong cybersecurity to protect our citizens.” “Technology companies almost certainly will not develop responsible encryption if left to their own devices,” he railed. “Competition will fuel a mindset that leads them to produce products that are more and more impregnable. That will give criminals and terrorists more opportunities to cause harm with impunity.” So what were Rosenstein’s examples of “responsible encryption”? “The central management of security keys and operating system updates; the scanning of content, like your e-mails, for advertising purposes; the simulcast of messages to multiple destinations at once; and key recovery when a user forgets the password to decrypt a laptop.” At this point — or, let’s face it, long before — crypto experts everywhere sighed heavily into the hands holding their heads. “Technology providers are working to build a world with armies of drones and fleets of driverless cars, a future of artificial intelligence and augmented reality. Surely such companies could design consumer products that provide data security while permitting lawful access with court approval,” Rosenstein went on to say — an argument the EFF neatly sums up in its takedown of the speech as “nerd harder“. Thing is, maths is immune to nerding harder — howsoever many people claim it’s not."