FBI Director Still Won't Say Which Encryption Experts Are Advising Him On His Bizarre Approach To Encryption

Failures

from the perhaps-there's-a-reason-he-won't-say... dept

For the past few months, we’ve talked about how FBI Director Chris Wray has more or less picked up where his predecessor, James Comey, left off when it came to the question of encryption and backdoors. Using a contextless, meaningless count of encrypted seized phones, Wray insists that not being able to get into any phone the FBI wants to get into is an “urgent public safety issue.”

Of course, as basically every security expert has noted, the reverse is true. Weakening encryption in the manner that Wray is suggesting would create a much, much, much bigger safety issue in making us all less safe. Hell, even the FBI used to recommend strong encryption as a method to protect public safety.

Last month, we wrote about a letter sent by Senator Ron Wyden to Wray, simply asking him to list out the names of encryption experts that he had spoken to in coming to his conclusion that it was possible to create backdoors to encryption without putting everyone at risk.

I would like to learn more about how you arrived at and justify this ill-informed policy proposal. Please provide me with a list of the cryptographers with whom you’ve personally discussed this topic since our July 2017 meeting and specifically identify those experts who advised you that companies can feasibly design government access features into their products without weakening cybersecurity. Please provide this information by February 23, 2018.

Technically, Wray still has a week or so to answer, but earlier this week during an open Senate hearing involving the heads of various law enforcement and intelligence agencies, Wyden asked Wray when he might get that list and Wray sidestepped the question entirely, other than saying he’d discuss it later (in a closed session):

If you can’t see that, here’s my quick transcript (though I do recommend watching the video just to see the smartass smirk on Wray’s face through much of it).

Wyden: On encryption. Director Wray, as you know, this isn’t a surprise because I indicated, I would ask you about this. You have essentially indicated that companies should be making their products with backdoors in order to allow you all to do your job. And we all want you to protect Americans and at the same time, sometimes there are these policies that make us less safe and give up our liberties. And that’s what I think we get with what you all are advocating which is weak encryption. Now this is a pretty technical area, as you and I have talked about it. And there’s a field known as cryptography. I don’t pretend to be an expert on it. But I think there is a clear consensus among experts in the field against your position to weaken strong encryption. So I have asked you for a list of the experts that you have consulted. I haven’t been able to get it. Can you give me a date this afternoon when you will give me… this morning, a sense of when we will be told who are these people who are advising you to pursue this route. Because I don’t know of anybody who is respected in this field who is advising that it is a good idea to adopt your position to weaken strong encryption. So can I get that list?

Wray: I would be happy to talk more about this topic this afternoon. My position is not that we should weaken encryption. My position is that we should be working together — the government and the private sector — to try to find a solution that balances both concerns.

Wyden: I’m on the program for working together. I just think we need to be driven by objective facts, and the position you all are taking is out of sync with what all the experts in the field are saying and I’d just like to know who you all have been consulting, and we’ll talk more about it this afternoon.

So, a few points on this. First, Wray doesn’t answer the actual question of when he’ll be giving Wyden a list, but rather suggests he’ll discuss this topic in the closed session. But the question of when he’ll be delivering his list of experts he’s consulted shouldn’t be a classified piece of information. It’s just a date. Second, Wray immediately misrepresents the issue, by saying he’s not asking to weaken encryption. Because he has to realize by now that that’s exactly what he’s asking to do. If he doesn’t recognize that then it’s clear he doesn’t understand the first thing about how encryption actually works. Third, he’s incorrectly talking about “balancing both concerns.” But there’s no balancing question here. It is not a “balance” between “security” and “civil liberties” as some keep trying to make it out to be. This is a concern between good security and bad security that makes everyone less safe (oh, and also has the potential to violate civil liberties).

It does not inspire confidence to have Wray have trouble answering such a basic question and then totally misrepresent how this all works, even in his two sentence answer.

Filed Under: backdoors, chris wray, cryptographers, encryption, experts, fbi, ron wyden