In the past few months, deadly terrorist attacks rocked both Paris, France and San Bernardino, California.  The technical investigation following both incidents focused on questions related to whether the attackers communicated with each other using strong encryption to avoid eavesdropping by law enforcement and intelligence organizations.  These questions sparked a national debate on the use of encryption and government access to private communications.  There’s one bottom line question: Is encryption evil?

Politicians and presidential candidates quickly condemned the bombings but also used their soapboxes to condemn encryption technology as a tool of terrorism.  In a Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton called for “a Manhattan-like project” focused on encryption.  Republican presidential candidate John Kasich said that “we have to solve the encryption problem.”  There’s certainly an undertone in the national conversation that encryption is an unwanted technology that facilitates terrorism and that the government must take action to protect Americans from it.

Read the full story: Encryption is Not Evil

Published January 2016 in Certification Magazine