News Internet Society has opposed backdoors in encryption

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About a hundred organizations and experts signed an open letter in which they opposed the adoption of the LAEDA law in the United States.

The draft Law on Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act (LAEDA) introduced by the US Congress could be the strongest in a series of attacks on encryption, a powerful online security tool. This is reportedin an open letter published on the Internet by the international organization Internet Society (ISOC), which develops and ensures the availability of the Internet and has more than 20 thousand members and more than 100 member organizations in 180 countries. A letter addressed to the authors of the bill has already been signed by about a hundred public organizations, technology companies, trade associations and information security experts.

Recall, LAEDA was introduced late last month by Senators Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton, and Marsha Blackburn. According to them, the document should protect US interests in the field of national security and put an end to the encryption technologies used by terrorists and criminals to conceal illegal activities. If accepted, LAEDA will oblige service providers and electronics manufacturers to assist law enforcement authorities in accessing encrypted devices or data if a court order is available.

According toISOC specialists Kenneth Olmstead and Ryan Polk, LAEDA put an end to end-to-end encryption. Indeed, in order to be able to comply with the law, companies will either have to incorporate backdoors into their products, or refuse encryption altogether.

“The law will expose millions of Americans and people around the world using American products and services to a high risk of cyber attacks by cybercriminals, including enemy states and cybercriminals. The law will require companies to implement backdoors in encryption. In some cases, this will be the default. In other cases, backdoors will be associated with nine new or expanded requirements for companies and people to provide the “technical assistance” requested by the government, explicitly providing for “decryption” of information. Thus, the requirements of the law are too broad, and companies will be forced to embed and support backdoors in encryption to be able to provide the requested data. [...]

Backdoors in encryption make members of the society more vulnerable to cyber threats, violation of rights, surveillance by foreign states and other risks. Any backdoor will certainly leak or be detected and used by intruders. A backdoor for law enforcement is also a backdoor for criminals, ”the open letter says.
 
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