Lawmakers criticize FBI's request for encryption back doors

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2916895/encryption/lawmakers-criticize-fbis-request-for-encryption-back-doors.html

By Grant Gross
IDG News Service
April 29, 2015

U.S. lawmakers are skeptical of an FBI request for Congress to mandate 
encryption workarounds in smartphones, with critics saying Wednesday that 
back doors would create new vulnerabilities that bad guys can exploit.

It's currently impossible for smartphone makers to build in back doors 
that allow law enforcement agencies access to encrypted communications but 
also keep out cybercriminals, witnesses and lawmakers said during a 
hearing before the IT subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government 
Reform Committee.

Law enforcement representatives called on lawmakers to find a way to allow 
access to encrypted data as a way to prevent serious crime. Late last 
year, FBI Director James Comey called for a public debate on encryption 
after Apple and Google announced they would offer new encryption tools on 
their smartphone OSes.

[...]



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