Encryption

Lawmakers Question FBI’s Push for Backdoors in Encrypted Devices

A bipartisan crew of 10 House lawmakers took FBI Director Christopher Wray to task Friday following an inspector general report that found the bureau rushed to court to force Apple to help it break into the encrypted iPhone used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook in 2015 without exploring other options.

Ultimately, the FBI withdrew its case against Apple when an unnamed third party offered to sell the bureau a tool to break into the phone without Apple’s help—a tool that a separate FBI division knew was nearly complete when the FBI first brought the Apple case, the IG found.

The rush to litigation, detailed in the IG report, suggests the FBI hasn’t been completely honest about the threat that warrant-proof encryption systems pose to national security, the lawmakers write.

Wray and his predecessor James Comey have warned that such end-to-end encryption systems allow criminals and terrorists to “go dark” online. The FBI has said it encountered 7,800 locked mobile devices that it could not access last year.