FBI Director Says Agents Need Access To Encrypted Data To Preserve Public Safety

FBI Director James Comey told senators on Wednesday that increased encryption on mobile devices is complicating the FBI's job.

Comey, along with a roster of Obama administration officials, has been asking Silicon Valley companies for months for a solution that would allow law enforcement to monitor communications with a court order, while protecting the privacy of consumers. Technology companies like Apple and Google have resisted their entreaties, setting off a tense debate over encrypted data and a user's right to own their own information.

After former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed, among other things, that the NSA and other agencies were siphoning off data and hacking into data centers, technology companies started building encrypted devices that essentially would cut them out of the process. The government couldn't demand companies turn over information because the new technology would give them no way to comply with a court order — increasingly, they are introducing devices that can be opened only by the user, something known as "strong encryption."

The FBI director said that is becoming a problem. "We cannot break strong encryption," Comey told lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "I think people watch TV and think the bureau can do lots of things. We cannot break strong encryption."

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/08/421251662/fbi-director-says-agents-need-access-to-encrypted-data-to-preserve-public-safety