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stormwyrm writes:

Former FBI General Counsel Jim Baker, who was known for prosecuting the legal case against Apple to get them to unlock the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, has published an extraordinary essay on Lawfare where he surprisingly argues rather for strong encryption without government back doors.

From Schneier on Security:

In the face of congressional inaction, and in light of the magnitude of the threat, it is time for governmental authorities­ -- including law enforcement­ -- to embrace encryption because it is one of the few mechanisms that the United States and its allies can use to more effectively protect themselves from existential cybersecurity threats, particularly from China. This is true even though encryption will impose costs on society, especially victims of other types of crime.

[...] I am unaware of a technical solution that will effectively and simultaneously reconcile all of the societal interests at stake in the encryption debate, such as public safety, cybersecurity and privacy as well as simultaneously fostering innovation and the economic competitiveness of American companies in a global marketplace.

[...] All public safety officials should think of protecting the cybersecurity of the United States as an essential part of their core mission to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. And they should be doing so even if there will be real and painful costs associated with such a cybersecurity-forward orientation. The stakes are too high and our current cybersecurity situation too grave to adopt a different approach.

Baker joins the growing list of former US law enforcement and national security senior officials who have come out in favor of strong encryption over backdoors, such as former NSA directors Gen. Michael Hayden and V. Adm. Mike McConnell, former DHS secretary Michael Chertoff, Counter-Terrorism adviser Richard Clarke, former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, and former deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn.

Original Submission