FTC gives FBI the finger over govt backdoor encryption demands

Following a blog post last month by the regulator's CTO in which he outlined why he was glad to have strong firmware encryption after his laptop was stolen, today FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny has also outlined why encryption is a good thing – and carefully suggests that introducing a way to undermine it may not be such a great idea.

"Encryption and end-user protections can raise issues of access for law enforcement," McSweeney notes. "Some argue that data storage and communications systems should be designed with exceptional access – or 'back doors' – for law enforcement in order to avoid harming legitimate investigative capabilities. However, many technologists contend that exceptional access systems are likely to introduce security flaws and vulnerabilities, weakening the security of products."