Lawmakers skeptical of FBI's encryption warnings

Encrypted Apple and Google devices are protecting rapists, fraudsters and human traffickers, law enforcement officials argued before mostly skeptical lawmakers. “When unaccountable corporate interests place crucial evidence beyond the legitimate reach of our courts, they are in fact placing those who rape, defraud, assault and even kill in a position of profound advantage over victims and society,” said Daniel Conley, a Boston district attorney, during a House Subcommittee on Information Technology hearing. Conley and a top FBI official asked Congress to help them find a solution to access this increasingly inaccessible data. Capitol Hill intervention is needed, they said, to ensure investigators can either get an encryption key or legally compel companies to decrypt the data for them. “What we’re asking for is not to lower [encryption] standards,” said Amy Hess, the executive assistant director of the FBI’s Science and Technology Branch. “Rather to come up with a way that we may be able to implement perhaps multiple keys or some other way to securely access that information, or rather be provided with that information.” The request has roiled privacy-minded lawmakers, “That’s the concern,” replied Rep Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), echoing the sentiment of many members on both sides of the aisle. “The strongest encryption possible,” Rep Chaffetz said, “means not having a key.”