New legislation requires breakable encryption
What's new: Senators Graham, Blackburn, and Cotton have introduced legislation requiring makers of encrypted hardware and software to maintain the ability to decrypt data when served with a law enforcement warrant.
Why this matters: The Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Actwould require tech companies to give law enforcement access to encrypted data if that data would help carry out a warrant.
Supporters of the bill argue "unbreakable encryption" denies law enforcement the ability to get evidence from suspects' devices even in critical investigations into terrorism and child exploitation cases.
Opponents say strong encryption is one of the primary ways individuals, corporations, and governments protect themselves online and that, once created, cybercriminals and even foreign governments are likely to discover and exploit these "backdoors."
What we're thinking: This argument is important, but it isn't new.
Klon Kitchen is a managing director at Beacon Global Strategies and a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
