Should governments access encrypted communications? | The Economist
- 5 years ago
Is the right to privacy more important than the threat to citizens’ safety from suspected terrorists?
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British Home Secretary Amber Rudd will meet social media companies and internet service providers to discuss terrorist use of their platforms. Miss Rudd is seeking access to encrypted communications which she says is necessary to combat terrorism.
The meeting comes in the wake of the attack in London in which WhatsApp was used by the attacker Khalid Masood moments before killing four people.
This isn't the first time the government has requested access to encrypted messages. Two years ago David Cameron, then the Prime Minister, made the same request after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris.
But any backdoor in encrypted communications could be exploited by hackers - not just security services. And privacy advocates argue that giving the government further powers will increase intrusion by the states to individuals lives.
Last year the investigatory powers act became law, giving the British government sweeping powers to collect data about citizen's online activity.
Encryption is based on the mathematics of prime numbers and government pressure won't change this. And all of this raises some thorny questions - how can governments increase security against terrorism without weakening security against hacking and is personal privacy online more important than governments ability to see what terrorists are saying?
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British Home Secretary Amber Rudd will meet social media companies and internet service providers to discuss terrorist use of their platforms. Miss Rudd is seeking access to encrypted communications which she says is necessary to combat terrorism.
The meeting comes in the wake of the attack in London in which WhatsApp was used by the attacker Khalid Masood moments before killing four people.
This isn't the first time the government has requested access to encrypted messages. Two years ago David Cameron, then the Prime Minister, made the same request after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris.
But any backdoor in encrypted communications could be exploited by hackers - not just security services. And privacy advocates argue that giving the government further powers will increase intrusion by the states to individuals lives.
Last year the investigatory powers act became law, giving the British government sweeping powers to collect data about citizen's online activity.
Encryption is based on the mathematics of prime numbers and government pressure won't change this. And all of this raises some thorny questions - how can governments increase security against terrorism without weakening security against hacking and is personal privacy online more important than governments ability to see what terrorists are saying?
Daily Watch: mind-stretching short films every day of the working week.
For more from Economist Films visit: http://films.economist.com/
Check out The Economist’s full video catalogue: http://econ.st/20IehQk
Like The Economist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist/
Follow The Economist on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theeconomist
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeconomist/
Follow us on LINE: http://econ.st/1WXkOo6
Follow us on Medium: https://medium.com/@the_economist