It’s time to rethink how wiretaps work after Chinese hack, experts say

Cybersecurity experts say a recent Chinese intrusion into major U.S. broadband providers’ systems means that it’s time for regulators to rethink a cornerstone law that, for 30 years, has required communications firms to engineer their systems to allow for law enforcement agencies to intercept targets’ communications through wiretapping. The break-ins, which may have compromised some of the most sensitive national security data on domestic surveillance targets, have raised questions about the security architecture of the backdoor installations enabled by the the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act — or CALEA — which passed in 1994. The break-in should push the U.S. to consider fresh standards for wiretap security protocols, said John Ackerly, a former White House official who managed the George W. Bush administration’s tech policy portfolio. “I don’t think it’s the question of giving government more access, but I think it’s a lot more clarity about what the standards are around the security and where there are back doors — those have to be really tight,” said Ackerly who now heads Virtru, a firm that offers data security services. “The vast majority of these requests are trying to keep us safe.” Apparently, the Federal Communications Commission has requested a briefing from national security officials about the intrusion