Wyden demands answers

One US senator is calling out the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for pushing the moronic notion that there is somehow a good way to add backdoors to encryption used to protect devices like Apple’s iPhone.

In a speech earlier this month, FBI Director Christopher Wray carried on the time-honored agency tradition of claiming that Silicon Valley can backdoor encryption safely if its workforce just nerds a little bit harder.

[...]

The problem, according to Wray, is that law enforcement is stymied by phone encryption, which is now widespread. [...] Tech companies, Wray said, “should be able to design devices that both provide data security and permit lawful access with a court order.”

But this is exactly what cryptographers and tech companies have repeatedly warned they can’t do, arguing that creating “lawful access” would also open the door to all sorts of hackers and malicious actors, undermining the security of the entire internet in the process.

[...]

During Wray’s confirmation process last summer, [Senator Ron] Wyden pressed him on the topic of encryption. Wray claimed he hadn’t formed a policy position on the issue, and Wyden requested that Wray consult with him before going public with his position. That apparently didn’t happen.

In a letter sent to Wray today, Wyden chastised him for advocating “a flawed policy that would harm American security, liberty, and our economy” and for not contacting Wyden prior to giving his speech.

Your stated position parrots the same debunked arguments espoused by your predecessors, all of whom ignored the widespread and vocal consensus of cryptographers. For years, these experts have repeatedly stated that what you are asking for is not, in fact, possible.

[...]

I would like to learn more about how you arrived at and justify this ill-informed policy proposal. Please provide me with a list of the cryptographers with whom you’ve personally discussed this topic since our July 2017 meeting and specifically identify those experts who advised you that companies can feasibly design government access features into their products without weakening cybersecurity. Please provide this information by February 23, 2018.

We’re guessing it’s a short list.

  Gizmodo

Or a blank one.

I'm still pissed off at Wyden for not reading out on the Senate floor - which was his to do - what he knew about the NSA's illegal domestic spying activities, allowing James Clapper to lie to Congress with impunity and forcing Edward Snowden to release classified documents and go into exile with a price on his head. I can't forgive Wyden. He'll have to do a lot more than this to make up for it.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.