FBI Director: Mobile encryption could lead us to ‘very dark place’

Summary: Apple's and Google's encryption plans have not gone down well with US law enforcement, and the agency's director says the companies are leading us down a dark path.

FBI Director James Comey believes that in a "post-Snowden" world, the pendulum has swung too far and unchecked encryption could lead us all to a "dark, dark place" where criminals walk free.

Speaking at an event at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., Comey said that public misconceptions over the data collected by the US government and technological capabilities of agencies such as the NSA have encouraged heightened encryption but the consequences could be dire.

The FBI chief, who has been in his post just over a year, said that "the law hasn't kept pace with technology, and this disconnect has created a significant public safety problem." In particular, "Going Dark" worries law enforcement the most the spectre of facing black spots in surveillance, and not being able to gather or access evidence related to suspected criminals.

"We have the legal authority to intercept and access communications and information pursuant to court order, but we often lack the technical ability to do so," Comey admitted.

Current law governing the interception of telecommunications data and records requires broadband and network providers to build interception capabilities into their networks, under the terms of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). However, this law was brought in 20 years ago and now technology has outstripped this legislation, as new communication technologies are not necessarily covered by the act.

According to the FBI Director, "if the challenges of real-time interception threaten to leave us in the dark, encryption threatens to lead all of us to a very dark place." Comey commented:

Encryption is nothing new. But the challenge to law enforcement and national security officials is markedly worse, with recent default encryption settings and encrypted devices and networks all designed to increase security and privacy.

Encryption isn't just a technical feature; it's a marketing pitch. But it will have very serious consequences for law enforcement and national security agencies at all levels.

The remarks were made in reference to Google and Apple, both of which have pledged to encrypt their mobile devices by default. Apple has recently added two-factor authentication to iCloud following celebrity photo leaks, and in iOS 8, the encryption keys are given to the customer. On the heels of Apple's announcement, Google said this level of encryption will also be enabled in the next version of Android.

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FBI Director: Mobile encryption could lead us to 'very dark place'