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FBI failed to access 7,000 encrypted mobile devices
Agents at the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been unable to extract data from nearly 7,000 mobile devices they have tried to access, the agency's director has said.
Christopher Wray said encryption on devices was "a huge, huge problem" for FBI investigations. The agency had failed to access more than half of the devices it targeted in an 11-month period, he said.
One cyber-security expert said such encryption was now a "fact of life". Many smartphones encrypt their contents when locked, as standard - a security feature that often prevents even the phones' manufacturers from accessing data. Such encryption is different to end-to-end encryption, which prevents interception of communications on a large scale.
Cyber-security expert Prof Alan Woodward at the University of Surrey said device encryption was clearly frustrating criminal investigations but it would be impractical and insecure to develop "back doors" or weakened security.
In a time when the government is committing criminal acts, is it not advisable for citizens to do what they can to protect themselves from that crime?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday October 24 2017, @02:54PM
You know what the next step will be?
Management Engines.
Hey, it worked on Intel and AMD processors used in billions of desktop, laptop and server PCs. Compromise baked right into your microprocessor. You pay for it. You don't want it. And nobody asked you. One can only speculate why that wasn't listed as a major feature on the box when it was introduced.
Now the TLAs need to get management engines forced to be in the design of British / Japanese ARM chips. Of course, they only license their IP, as I understand it. Others take the IP, design their own concrete chip implementations, and then fabricate their chips. So it might be just a wee bit harder to forcibly corrupt the hardware.
Drat! those two billion smartphones with ARM chips!
For some odd reason all scientific instruments searching for intelligent life are pointed away from Earth.