New U.S. Senate Bill Targets Strong Encryption

A recent article on the Decipher website describes a new bill introduced in the United States Senate that “would require device manufacturers, cloud platform providers, and software makers to provide law enforcement agencies direct access to encrypted data on devices and encrypted communications services.”

The article, written by Dennis Fisher, states, “The Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act is sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and provides the most direct challenge to the use of strong encryption for data at rest and in motion of any proposed legislation in recent years.”

Additionally, the article quotes Andrew Crocker, senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who says: “This bill is simply blind to reality. It is blind to the fact that as millions of us march in the streets and shelter in place, we've never been more dependent on secure communications and devices. It is blind to the expert consensus that there is no way to provide access to securely encrypted data without a backdoor, something that legislating a prize for a magical solution cannot change.” 

Read the complete article on Decipher.

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