FTC Commissioner Wants More Encryption, Fewer Backdoors While there's a large contingent in government eagerly looking to backdoor every device on the network and ban encryption, at least one federal agency is openly stating that they believe more encryption is a good thing for businesses and consumers alike. In an editorial over at the Huffington Post, FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny argues that more encryption means more secure consumer and business data, reducing the overall impact of crime.

quote: Moreover, there are more products on the market providing consumers with better security and privacy tools -- including encryption as the default for information stored on smartphones, apps that use end-to-end encryption, and services that encrypt data on devices and then back them up in the cloud. Competition in the marketplace of security and privacy technology holds considerable promise for consumers. Though she obviously doesn't address them by name, McSweeny also points out that the NSA and FBI's incessant, unrelenting quest to backdoor everything poses a multi-layered threat: quote: This debate, sometimes called the crypto wars, is hardly new -- it has been going on in some form or another for decades. But what is changing is the extent to which we are using connected technology in every facet of our daily lives. If consumers cannot trust the security of their devices, we could end up stymieing innovation and introducing needless risk into our personal security . In this environment, policy makers should carefully weigh the potential impact of any proposals that may weaken privacy and security protections for consumers. This isn't the first time the FTC has come out in favor of strong encryption; FTC CTO Ashkan Soltani But she also notes that the race toward encryption and the shift toward security as a competitive feature (as we've seen with Apple and Google ) is an overall good thing for consumers and markets alike:Though she obviously doesn't address them by name, McSweeny also points out that the NSA and FBI's incessant, unrelenting quest to backdoor everything poses a multi-layered threat:This isn't the first time the FTC has come out in favor of strong encryption; FTC CTO Ashkan Soltani penned a blog post last month singing the virtues of full-disk encryption. While it's certainly not going to sway those in intelligence and law enforcement, it's refreshing to see somebody in government singing a slightly different tune when it comes to backdoors and encryption.







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FactChecker

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join:2008-06-03 2 edits 3 recommendations FactChecker Premium Member Why encryption is good for 3rd parties It also protects the value of your private information between you and "free" services, advertisers, etc. (e.g. Google, Facebook, etc)

Barron

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2 recommendations Barron Premium Member Trust the Government? NO WAY!

The more power the federal government takes and controls, the greater the corruption and the less freedom and liberty and security we actually have.



Citizens of the USA unite. Cast off your chains by setting ALL elected politicians, federal police agencies and NSA afloat in a leaky boat. Then we start over without these burdensome gluttons of the public trough. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. (Lord Acton)The more power the federal government takes and controls, the greater the corruption and the less freedom and liberty and security we actually have.Citizens of the USA unite. Cast off your chains by setting ALL elected politicians, federal police agencies and NSA afloat in a leaky boat. Then we start over without these burdensome gluttons of the public trough.