FBI drive for encryption backdoors is deja vu for security experts
Found on Ars Technica on Monday, 27 September 2010
The FBI now wants to require all encrypted communications systems to have backdoors for surveillance, according to a New York Times report.
According to the proposal, any company doing business in the States could not create an encrypted communication system without having a way for the government to order the company to decrypt it.
Despite that, the FBI is saying that its spying capabilities could be degraded unless the Congress requires companies using encryption to remake their current systems so that the companies have some way to spy on the communications.
Well, leaving the FBI and others locked out of a communication is basically the reason for encryption. Not only would a backdoor circumvent this, it also wouldn't be possible. Encryption software would simply be developed outside the US. Of course, US citizens would be forbidden from downloading it, but well, yeah, I'm sure that would work. Not to mention that having a master key to an encryption scheme is just begging blackhats to exploit it; and they will. The feds are locked out and it should stay that way. Others (Iran) were decried for demanding nation-wide online spying. Pretty much the same what US agencies want too. Guess that's a case of "it's only bad when others do it".