FBI Director Comey calls on Congress to stop unlockable encryption.

[Veilex]

FBI Director James Comey is urging Congress to take up the topic of encryption -- setting up a potentially historic debate on Capitol Hill over whether U.S. tech firms can be required to bake into their technology ways for law enforcement to legally access users' e-mails, texts and other digital communications.

In remarks at the Brookings Institution on Thursday, Comey used the phrase "going dark" to describe the decisions by companies like Apple and Google to encrypt by default more and more of their services. (Comey recalled his response when he learned of those decisions: "Holy cow.&quot The problem, Comey argued, is that the process locks away for good some data that could be useful to law enforcement as it fights crime.

The argument against that notion? That any time you create a means of access for law enforcement -- what Comey called a "front door" that the FBI can use "with clarity and transparency" -- it increases the chances that those with ill-intentions can get at that same data.

It's a complicated dynamic, and Comey appeared eager to punt the confusion over to Congress. He called for the House and Senate to begin rethinking the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, better known as CALEA, which empowers the FBI to access electronic communications. The 20-year old law, Comey argued, should require companies big and small to build into their systems "lawful intercept capabilities" that aren't stymied by encryption.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/10/17/fbi-director-comey-calls-on-congress-to-stop-unlockable-encryption-good-luck-with-that/

[TreasonousBastard]

1. Fuck him. The law is full of constraints...

on the police in all areas, but they still manage to catch a lot of bad guys.

His real problem is that this is one constraint they can't sneak around.

[KeepItReal]

2. If you have a warrant, you can just seize the offending computer, cell phone, or tablet

Or present present the warrant to the phone carrier or network administrator and ask to see the information on their mail server or backup thereof.

[hunter]

3. And how would they do that?

They'd pretty much have to ban all user programmable devices.

It's one thing to catch pedophiles, set up stings for naive potential terrorists, and blackmail or expose kinky politicians, it's a more difficult task to fight the organized crime that permeates the higher levels of our political and financial institutions.

It often seems the FBI pays more attention to the teenage shoplifters of the national crime scene than they do the organized crime bosses.