FBI director urges companies to rethink encryption

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, FBI director James Comey called for tech companies offering encryption to rethink their business model. Comey identified that he's not satisfied with the current drive to encrypt devices, claiming it severely hurts the actions of law enforcement. The comments look like a veiled jab at Google and Apple, which offer phones that are encrypted by default.

"There are plenty of companies today that provide secure services to their customers and still comply with court orders,” said Comey. "There are plenty of folks who make good phones who are able to unlock them in response to a court order. In fact, the makers of phones that today can’t be unlocked, a year ago they could be unlocked."

“In May, when two terrorists attempted to kill a whole lot of people in Garland, Texas, and were stopped by the action of great local law enforcement," he said. "That morning, before one of those terrorists left to try to commit mass murder, he exchanged 109 messages with an overseas terrorist. We have no idea what he said, because those messages were encrypted. That is a big problem."

Via: ARS Technica