Attorney General Calls For 'Lawful' Backdoors Into Encryption

(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The US government still isn’t giving up the encryption debate. On Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr delivered a 30-minute speech, demanding the tech industry help federal agents bypass encryption on consumer devices or risk enabling crime.

“Making our virtual world more secure should not come at the expense of making us more vulnerable in the real world. But, unfortunately, this is what we are seeing today,” he said on Tuesday at a cybersecurity conference.

In his speech, Barr reiterated past arguments the FBI and other Justice Department officials have made in calling for access to encrypted data —namely, that criminals and terrorists have been using encrypted devices and messaging services to prevent federal agents from tracking their activities and uncovering the evidence necessary to prosecute them for their crimes.

“The costs of irresponsible encryption that blocks legitimate law enforcement access is ultimately measured in a mounting number of victims —men, women, and children who are the victims of crimes— crimes that could have been prevented if law enforcement had been given lawful access to encrypted evidence,” the attorney general claimed.

The tech industry has pushed back on such arguments. Their fear: That creating a “government backdoor” will also weaken the encryption across their consumer products, making them easier for anyone to hack.

But according to Barr, the time for debate is over. During his speech, he demanded the tech industry pave the way for such access, claiming that “warrant-proof” encryption is jeopardizing public safety. “These costs will grow exponentially as deployment of warrant-proof encryption accelerates and criminals are emboldened by their ability to evade detection,” he said.

Although Barr refrained from advocating for a specific solution, he suggested that vendors could provide government access to encrypted data by rolling out special software updates to the smartphones and electronic devices federal agents are seeking to unlock. “We think our tech sector has the ingenuity to develop effective ways to provide secure encryption while also providing secure legal access,” he added.

However, Barr’s speech was met by push back from US Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), a privacy advocate. “This morning (Barr) raised a tired, debunked plan to blow a hole in one of the most important security features protecting digital lives of the American people,” Wyden said in a speech on the Senate floor. “Mr. Barr, echoing some on the far, far right Republicans, is trying to undermine strong encryption and require government backdoors into the personal devices of the American people.”

He went on to say the same encryption protects consumer and government data from not only hostile foreign governments, but also unwarranted surveillance from the US. Wyden is particularly concerned with the Trump administration using such powers for spying purposes.

“What senator in their right mind would hand these men the authority to break into every single American’s phone?” Wyden asked.