U.S. Secretary Of Homeland Security Warns About The Dangers Of Pervasive Encryption | TechCrunch

Label this guy a douchebag! Read this article, then read these two to put it in perspective:
Schneier on Security: Perceived Risk vs. Actual Risk

Popehat.com: "Safe Spaces" And The Mote In America's Eye

The former gives the reasoning why crap like this article works on the public and the latter details what is wrong with going along with it...


U.S. Secretary Of Homeland Security Warns About The Dangers Of Pervasive Encryption | TechCrunch: "In a speech at cybersecurity conference RSA, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson outlined the government’s discomfort with increasing implementation of encryption by technology companies, and what impact the shift might have on national security. While tech firms like Apple are advancing encryption to an increasingly broad set of consumer activities, the government is concerned that it could increasingly be locked out from the communications, and the intentions, of threats to national security. The issue of encryption, who should hold the controlling keys, and if American technology companies should be compelled to provide special access to consumer data to the United States government are issues as old as they are controversial. The common argument against any weakening of encryption is that there are no unexploitable weaknesses — if Google were to craft a back or front door for the U.S. government, it’s impossible to keep that same entryway free from other parties. After asking for “indulgence” and “understanding,” the secretary said during his remarks that the “current course [the technology industry is on], toward deeper and deeper encryption in response to the demands of the marketplace, is one that presents real challenges for those in law enforcement and national security.” In the secretary’s view, the nation’s “inability to access encrypted information poses public safety challenges.” Ignoring the mild irony behind that comment — why else would you choose to encrypt data? — the government employee continued: “In fact, encryption is making it harder for your government to find criminal activity and potential terrorist activity.” Johnson concluded with a colorful description of privacy and freedom, calling them “the things that constitute our greatest homeland security.”"

'via Blog this'