The UK’s director general of intelligence agency MI5 thinks that tech companies should provide it with “exceptional access” to encrypted messages when required.
Sir Andrew Parker made his remarks for an ITV documentary broadcast on Thursday about the domestic intelligence agency. He said that it is “increasingly mystifying” why intelligence agencies are not able to easily read the secret messages being sent and received by terror suspects they are monitoring.
The result, Parker said, is that cyberspace has become “a wild west, unregulated, inaccessible to authorities.” He called on tech companies to “use the brilliant technologists you’ve got” to help it come up with a solution. He believes that it should be possible to provide end-to-end encryption for users which can be broken on an “exceptional basis” where there is a legal warrant and compelling evidence for them to do so.
Parker will step down from his role this spring at the end of his statutory term in the job.
MI5 and encrypted messages
MI5’s boss is not the first person in law enforcement and intelligence to speak out against strong encryption. Previously, the UK attempted to implement an Investigatory Powers Act that would crack down on the use of encrypted messaging services. Apple criticized the Investigatory Powers Act during the legislation’s draft stage. It argued that forcing companies to create backdoors in encryption services like iMessage could “hurt law-abiding citizens.”
In the U.S., Apple has had standoffs with the FBI and even President Trump on the subject of strong encryption. In January, Trump told CNBC that “Apple has to help us. And I’m very strong on it. They have the keys to so many criminals and criminal minds.”
A recent report suggests that Apple may have ditched plans for strong encryption of iCloud user backups after concern from the FBI. An interview from 2018 alludes to the fact that Apple was planning to introduce a similar feature.
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales previously called for Apple to “refuse to sell iPhone in [the] U.K. if [the] government bans end-to-end encryption.”
Source: Guardian
