The UK’s war on encryption is dangerous

Stay informed with free updates

Just sign up to Cyber ​​security MYFT DIGEST – Shipped directly to your inbox.

The writer is the President of the Encrypted Message Service Signal

Imagine a government that tells the company, to confidently weaken the efficiency of brakes, which sells all the cars he sold, and in recklessly endangering the safety of millions of people. It will be an indescribable dilapidacy of public safety.

It is unfortunately, this is what happens in the UK in cyber security, where Apple has had to secure the vital privacy and security protection of the final privacy and security protection from its backup service.

Here Apple is not a villain. This was not a relief choice. The company has invested billions of dollars in cryptographic research and development and markets as a confidential friendly company.

But Apple was in boxing a corner after receiving the UK government order, demanding rewriting and weakening Basic Privacy TechnologyThe intentional engineering vulnerability is not only in the United Kingdom but also in the world to ensure that the government enters the cli-encrypted clouds of customers.

The government also ordered the company not to see anyone using the so-called “snoopers” to keep the order and the security of security security.

In favor of Luu, Apple encrypted coding alone in the UK from reserves and launched a Legal Complaint:This is a reduction in damage, but it is still harmful. If you are in the UK, your iCloud backups are full of things such as sensitive business documents, intimate photos, evidence and financial records, are now vulnerable to hackers, violations, theft and hostile government.

The news is still bad for those outside the UK. Communication does not remain within the limits of competence. All you have shared with friends or peers is now missing the final encryption protection. The photo you sent a friend or confidential information you have shared with partnership is now vulnerable.

If this is what Apple can be subject to, we must stop and shock, as we think that other technology companies can receive such a secret order, and instead of fighting, silently. In particular, business managers need to worry about what they can mean for them and the confidence that they have set into cloud servers, software and other critical systems that can be secretly exposed to reckless danger.

The United Kingdom is a dangerous trend that threatens the cyber security of our global infrastructure. In Sweden, lawmakers have recently proposed a law that will provide communication suppliers to establish a door vulnerability. France is ready to make the same mistake when it strives to include “ghost participants” through insecure conversations through the back doors. “Chat control” legislation pursues Brussels.

Basic infrastructure, such as air traffic control, medical devices and emergency actions relevant to the calculation device and software. Using strong encryption to protect security and privacy is therefore a matter of national security.

The threat is not hypothetical. Last year, the US government revealed US telecommunications salt typhoon attacks, in which China’s hackers have acquired call records, text messages and other more intimate information of millions of Americans. Possible victims included President Donald Trump. How do hackers do it? They exploited the “back doors” integrated telecommunications systems.

The fundamental problem is clear. Encryption is math, and mathematics do not distinguish between government investigator and criminal hackers, the back door can enter.

There is also a contradiction in the game. If politicians dream of making the UK technology node, they should not work to undermine the foundations of cyber security, on which it relies on the able-bodied technology industry.

The government must withdraw its misleaded mandate. Instead, instead of sharply cutting brake cables on the technology machine, it must work to strengthen the safety and privacy of the nervous system of our world. Business leaders must also play a role in making it possible that these dangerous steps are unacceptable, and companies that they licenses licenses without whom their customer protection.

We have given many of the main operations of our lives and institutions, we must recognize that strong encryption is not a security enemy. That is to be security. The argument of the deceptive relaxation will make any of us as dangerous.