The IC Thinks Harvard Is Wrong About Encryption
One of the important recent contributions to the encryption debate was a report from the Berkman Center at Harvard, "Don't Panic." It is fair to say that the report's title captures its view of the encryption problem -- it asserts that the prevalence of strong encryption will not be a significant impediment to law enforcement or intelligence collection.
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One of the important recent contributions to the encryption debate was a report from the Berkman Center at Harvard, "Don't Panic." It is fair to say that the report's title captures its view of the encryption problem -- it asserts that the prevalence of strong encryption will not be a significant impediment to law enforcement or intelligence collection.
The Director of National Intelligence thinks that's wrong. In a letter to Senator Wyden, they took issue with the Berkman Center: "The important public debate about the appropriate scope of lawful access to encrypted communications .... must be informed by recognition that the increased use of encryption by those targets represents a significant impediment to our efforts to protect the nation ... an impediment that cannot be fully mitigated by alternative means."
