Both strong end-to-end communications encryption and device encryption are legal in most jurisdictions today, and remain widely available. Yet software programmers and hardware producers are increasingly under pressure from law enforcement and policy makers around the world to include so-called backdoors in encryption products.
In this lecture, I will provide the state of the law as we moving into 2017, detailing what happened in the fight between Apple and the FBI in San Bernardino and the current proposals to weaken or ban encryption, covering proposed and recently enacted laws. I will also discuss the extra-legal pressures placed upon companies, and the rise of government hacking and state-sponsored malware as an alternative or addition to weakening software. Finally, the presentation will discuss possible realistic outcomes, and give my predictions on what the state of the law will be as we head into 2017, and discuss how we can fight for a future that will allow for secure communications for everyone. The discussion will include: - The law and policy issues in the FBI v. Apple iPhone case, - The FBI’s purchase of 0day access to the iPhone 5c, and Apple’s technical response, - The rise in use of government malware to access encrypted device - Proposed and enacted crypto laws in the United States, Australia, India, Russia, and the UK, - Legal pressures on companies, like Brazil’s arrest of Facebook executives to pressure WhatsApp, - Q&A with the audience.
Speakers: Kurt Opsahl