‘Laughing in Our Faces Too Long’: UK Government Trains Sights on Encryption Anew
SputnikNews.com
25.05.2017
The UK government aims to push through orders forcing all communications companies to break data encryption. An anonymous government minister has been quoted in the mainstream media as saying “we will do this as soon as we can after the election,” and “social media companies have been laughing in our faces too long.”
The response comes after the Manchester bombing atrocity, that saw 22 killed. While there is nothing to suggest access to encrypted data would’ve averted the strike (the attacker was certainly known to intelligence services via traditional analog means), UK politicians have repeatedly jumped at any possible opportunity to attack encryption for its alleged criminal and terroristic connotations.
Most notoriously, in the wake of the March terror attack in Westminster, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said it was “completely unacceptable” that authorities were unable to view attacker’s Khalid Masood’s encrypted WhatsApp messages, and argued there should be “no place for terrorists to hide.”
A requirement for companies to remove electronic protection for communications was included in the 2016 Investigatory Powers Act last year, but requires formal approval by both Houses of Parliament before taking effect. In May, a draft version of the Act was leaked, which included rules that would compel all communications companies — including phone networks and ISPs — to provide real-time access to any named individual’s full content within a single working day, as well as any “secondary data” related to that individual, including encrypted content.
It would also legally require UK communications firms to introduce backdoors to their systems, so authorities can monitor any and all communications. In addition, such businesses would be required to facilitate bulk surveillance by introducing systems capable of providing real-time interception of 1 in 10,000 customers — in essence, the government would be capable of spying on 6,500 individuals simultaneously. One portion of the paper, covering requirements for postal operators, would allow the government to “open, copy and reseal any postal item.”
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