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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Congratulations. According to the latest FBI Director, cypherpunks and Silicon Valley alike pose an "urgent public safety issue" due to their use of effective ("strong") encryption. FBI Director Christopher Wray can confirm that encryption is working as intended [thehill.com]:

FBI Director Christopher Wray stated Tuesday that the inability of law enforcement agencies to surpass the strong encryptions on electronic devices poses an "urgent public safety issue." Wray said that during the last fiscal year, the FBI failed to break through the powerful protective coding of 7,775 devices, even though they had advanced tools at their disposal and the legal right to access the contents.

"While the FBI and law enforcement happen to be on the front lines of this problem, this is an urgent public safety issue for all of us," Wray said during a speech [fbi.gov] at the International Conference on Cyber Security (ICCS) in New York. "Because as horrifying as 7,800 in one year sounds, it's going to be a lot worse in just a couple of years if we don't find a responsible solution," he added.

The FBI chief said the inability to access cellphone data that is "going dark" would impact FBI investigations across the board including counterterrorism, counterintelligence, human trafficking and organized crime.

[...] "Let me be clear: The FBI supports information security measures, including strong encryption. But information security programs need to be thoughtfully designed so they don't undermine the lawful tools we need to keep this country safe," Wray said.

It's clear that you don't get it. But don't worry, Mr. Wray. I'm sure your agency is hoarding vulnerabilities and hardware backdoors, or borrowing them from the NSA and CIA.

Also in the news, Wray is paying a little more attention to Twitter [go.com] now.

Also at The Washington Post [washingtonpost.com] (archive [archive.fo]).

Previously: FBI Failed to Access 7,000 Encrypted Mobile Devices [soylentnews.org]
Great, Now There's "Responsible Encryption" [soylentnews.org]
FBI Bemoans Phone Encryption After Texas Shooting, but Refuses Apple's Help [soylentnews.org]
DOJ: Strong Encryption That We Don't Have Access to is "Unreasonable" [soylentnews.org]
FBI Director Christopher Wray Keeps War on Encryption Alive [soylentnews.org]

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