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U.S. Attorney General William Barr Demands Backdoored Encryption

posted by chromas on Thursday July 25 2019, @01:01PM   
from the dipshit dept.

takyon writes:

Low Barr: Don't give me that crap about security, just put the backdoors in the encryption, roars US Attorney General

If the cops and Feds can't read people's encrypted messages, you will install backdoors for us, regardless of the security hit, US Attorney General William Barr has told the technology world.

While speaking today in New York, Barr demanded eavesdropping mechanisms be added to consumer-level software and devices, mechanisms that can be used by investigators to forcibly decrypt and pry into strongly end-to-end encrypted chats, emails, files, and calls. No ifs, no buts.

And while this will likely weaken secure data storage and communications – by introducing backdoors that hackers and spies, as well as the cops and FBI, can potentially leverage to snoop on folks – it will be a price worth paying. And, after all, what do you really need that encryption for? Your email and selfies?

"We are not talking about protecting the nation's nuclear launch codes," Barr told the International Conference on Cyber Security at Fordham University. "Nor are we necessarily talking about the customized encryption used by large business enterprises to protect their operations. We are talking about consumer products and services such as messaging, smart phones, email, and voice and data applications. There have been enough dogmatic pronouncements that lawful access simply cannot be done. It can be, and it must be."

Related: DOJ: Strong Encryption That We Don't Have Access to is "Unreasonable"
FBI Director Calls Encryption a "Major Public Safety Issue"
FBI Director: Without Compromise on Encryption, Legislation May be the 'Remedy'
Five Eyes Governments Get Even Tougher on Encryption
Australia Set to Pass Controversial Encryption Law
FBI: End-to-End Encryption Problem "Infects" Law Enforcement and Intelligence Community

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Original Submission

• Re:how is that going to work? Re:how is that going to work? (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 25 2019, @01:23PM (4 children)

  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 25 2019, @01:23PM (#871041)

  Watch any congressional session, no one knows what they are talking about at all. The entire federal government is a huge waste of money.

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• Re:how is that going to work? (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 25 2019, @05:48PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 25 2019, @05:48PM (#871158)

  soylentnews: where basic common sense is modded "troll"

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• Re:how is that going to work? Re:how is that going to work? (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday July 25 2019, @07:22PM (2 children)

  by DannyB (5839) on Thursday July 25 2019, @07:22PM (#871211) Journal

  Huge waste of money: yes.

  Still necessary: unfortunately.

  Once upon a time, in a land far away, Unix started out like the US government. A few essential services.

  --
  The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.

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  • Re:how is that going to work? Re:how is that going to work? (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 25 2019, @08:41PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 25 2019, @08:41PM (#871249)

    Well, if you can ask whether Guam is going to capsize if a 10k troop military base is built on it and still get reelected to congress multiple times afterwards I think things have gone far beyond "a few essential services".

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    • Re:how is that going to work? (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @03:44PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 26 2019, @03:44PM (#871515)

      You can't have light without the dark, you can't have smart without stupid.

      Parent