Neil Hughes
President Barack Obama's recent comments on encryption and national security have drawn criticism from the highly connected audience of the South by Southwest festival, including one particularly prominent voice — Â Congressman Darrell Issa.
In an appearance at the festival last week, Obama warned against taking an "absolutist" position on encryption, saying that both sides need to make concessions. Unsurprisingly, that didn't sit well with SXSW attendees, who tend to side with Apple in favor of stronger encryption.
There's just no way to create a special key for government that couldn't also be taken advantage of by the Russians, the Chinese, or others who want access to the sensitive information we all carry in our pockets everyday." - Rep. Darrell Issa
Rep. Issa, R-Calif., spoke with USA Today about the encryption debate, and didn't mince words when it came to Obama's response.
"It was tone deaf," Issa reportedly said. "He did not read the room in that portion of the answer. There's just no way to create a special key for government that couldn't also be taken advantage of by the Russians, the Chinese, or others who want access to the sensitive information we all carry in our pockets everyday."
In Obama's view, un-hackable encryption is not an ideal solution. He believes law enforcement agencies should be given access to devices in limited cases, likening it to TSA checks at the airport or drunk driving checkpoints.
But to Issa, those comments were "a detriment to privacy."
Unlike many in politics or law enforcement, Issa has a background in technology. He was co-founder and CEO of Directed Electronics, a maker of car security products including the Viper alarm. He also served as chairman of the Consumer Electronics Association, which runs CES, from 1998 to 2001 before becoming a member of the U.S. Congress.
Issa's stance is in opposition to many of his colleagues in Washington, who largely side with the FBI and believe Apple should create a "backdoor" to access iPhones that may be of interest to law enforcement. At the center of the debate is an iPhone 5c that was used for work by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino terrorist attack late last year.
Apple has countered by saying that creating a "backdoor" to its iOS platform would not only be a major security issue, but it could also set a precedent for governments to request access to devices in questionable situations.
Apple has received nearly unanimous support from Silicon Valley, with more than two dozen American technology firms signing amicus briefs backing the iPhone maker. A number of civil liberties groups, including the ACLU and EFF, have also stepped in on Apple's side.
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47 Comments
I get the feeling the Gov't is going to force feed this flawed view of 'special access' and when it blows up, gets exploited and millions pay the price, they will blame the technology companies for 'not doing it right'.. foolish, arrogant, and many other words I cannot say here.
As ardently as these government buffoons (including this worthless President) are trying to punch up the urgency of this encryption buggaboo so that we give in to this fabricated situation and give up our rights to privacy over his red herring, what the hell did the FBI do to catch criminals BEFORE we had these smartphones and this encryption?
Right on, Issa. Unfortunately, the Idiot-in-Chief is the one whose comments make the news. I scanned the headlines of multiple news sites today and no coverage given to Issa, just a bunch of pro-FBI propaganda.
Obama has an agenda. True encryption is a problem for that agenda. He threatens to have Congress address this issue if Silicon Valley does not. What he actually means is that he will personally address it via executive action. Congress and the people of the USA are right when they agree with him. If not, he has no compunction about taking matters into his own hands.
Darrell Issa should also be informed that:
1. The TSA master key that opens up every TSA lock that protect your luggage can now be printed out by anyone with a 3d printer since the instructions for doing so are in public. So your TSA locks no longer protect you from any thief since any thief can easily make their own copy of the key. No wonder airport employees steal your belongings from your baggage. They have the master key. Now anyone can have the key.
2. As noted on some online articles, the master key to every New York City elevator is for sale on eBay and states outside of New York. It may be illegal to carry with you in New York. But what thief who wants access to every floor in every apartment, hotel, or building in New York wouldn't want to buy one for a few bucks in New Jersey or on eBay? Every building with an elevator in New York is now accessible to thieves and other crooks - including terrorists.
3. The lawmakers and police applauded Apple for locking up the iPhone with security. This stopped many iPhone users from being assaulted or killed by thieves who wanted their iPhones. This reduced the rate of crime significantly in big cities like New York. But now, if Apple is forced to create a back door to iOS, this will immediately be accessible to thieves. And the rate of assaults on iPhone users will once again go up. Obviously, since Android users have no security, they are already the targets of assaults and theft.
So much for keeping the backdoor private. So much for the idea of keeping the public safe.
Backdoors completely blow open any idea of safety or privacy and make you more easily victimized.