FBI Chief Admits It's Impossible to Ban All Encryption

FBI Director James Comey acknowledged that determined terrorists and criminals will always have ways to hide their communications from the government. Even if Congress requires US tech companies to guarantee access to their devices and services, there will likely still be foreign companies that offer strong encryption, Director Comey said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. And sophisticated terrorists could even build their own encrypted messaging apps, he admitted. "I think there's no way we solve this entire problem," Director Comey acknowledge. "Encryption is always going to be available to the sophisticated user."

The admission may seem to undermine Director Comey's push for broader government access to data. But, according to the FBI chief, even though there's no perfect solution, it's still worth making it harder for terrorists to escape surveillance. "The problem we face post-Snowden is, it's moved from being available to the sophisticated bad guy to being the default. And so it's affecting every criminal investigation. I agree there's no way to solve this entire problem, but I still think it's worth trying to solve a big chunk of it."