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UK Prime Minister Says Gov't Should Be Capable of Reading Any Communications

Posted by Soulskill on from the in-the-case-of-security-v-freedom dept.

Dr_Barnowl writes: The BBC reports that UK Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to introduce a "comprehensive piece of legislation" aimed at there being no "means of communication ... we cannot read," in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris. While he didn't mention encryption specifically, the only logical means by which this could occur would be by the introduction of compulsory key escrow, and the banning of forms of encryption which do not use it. While the UK already essentially has a legal means to demand your encryption keys (and imprison you indefinitely if you don't comply), this would fall short if you have a credible reason for not having the key any more (such as using an OTR plugin for your chosen chat program).

The U.S. tried a similar tack with Clipper in the 90s. As we all know, terrorists with any technical chops are unlikely to be affected, given the vast amount of freely available, military-grade crypto now available, and the use of boring old cold war tradecraft. Ironically, France used to ban the use of strong cryptography but has largely liberalized its regime since 2011.

21 of 329 comments (clear)

  1. Dear Prime Minister Cameron, by haruchai · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Let's see you decrypt the following:

    Do kindly fuck off at your earliest convenience. Not a terrorist but like Charlie Hedbo, refuse to live on my knees.

    --
    Pain is merely failure leaving the body
    1. Re:Dear Prime Minister Cameron, by hughbar · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Agree. Actually he can fuck off anyway, an awful prime-minister surrounded by greedy, idiotic cronies...

      --
      On y va, qui mal y pense!
    2. Re:Dear Prime Minister Cameron, by serviscope_minor · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Awful? Dunno, seems like a run of the mill PM to be honest. Saying he's an awful PM implies we regularly get better PMs.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    3. Re:Dear Prime Minister Cameron, by gsslay · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Cameron's real problem is that he doesn't understand anything that doesn't have profit as a bottom line. And the greedy cronies that he's surrounded by (it would be a mistake to think them idiots) aren't interested in anything that doesn't have profit as a bottom line. It is, they believe, everything that makes reality work.

      There is no obvious profit margin in other people's privacy. Therefore it has no value, and is a hindrance to where profit is to be made. So it must be removed.

  2. 1984 is not an instruction manual, David by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If we could hook Orwell's corpse up to a turbine, we'd have the energy problem solved.

  3. Yep, the government _is_ the terrorist ! by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I ran away from China some decades ago because the Communist government of China was more or less acting like a terroristic entity

    I ran away from China and ended up in the West, and I thought I am safe ... apparently, I was wrong!

    Now the Western nations are trying to become more China than China !

    Oooooh, my !

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    1. Re:Yep, the government _is_ the terrorist ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The word is tyranny, or despotism, not terrorism. However, I'm not sure that even the former words apply (I'm an American).

      In the UK and in the US, the basic principle is "government by consent of the governed". This philosophy probably originated by the Athenians in ancient Greece and was further developed by a series of philosophers in England, France, and Germany between 200 and 450 years ago. Unlike the democracy in ancient Greece, its usage in the West does *not* mean that the governed are to be consulted for approval of every individual act done by the government, e.g. reading your email. It *does* mean that the electorate can vote out the politicians at the head of the government, and in the legislatures, if they aren't pleased with their policies in general.

    2. Re:Yep, the government _is_ the terrorist ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'd say it's starting to drift into terrorism territory fairly quick. A tyranny (or other forms of despotic rules) gives absolute power to the ruler, who use force to control his subjects. What is going on right now is more similar to terrorism, using fear to control the masses. It's not a threat of direct violence like a tyranny, but rather a threat of indirect violence.

      In fact, this is sounding more and more like dialogue from classic mobster flicks, where the men in suits warn you that not paying for protection might result in your shop burning to the ground or your kneecaps being broken.

  4. Capable, sure by phorm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sure, you should be capable of reading anything, provided you've got the encryption key, provided you've got a warrant to request it, provided that the warrant is based on certifiable facts and a meaningful threat/need.

    Otherwise, fuck off.

    1. Re:Capable, sure by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's clear that while not all muslims are terrorists, almost all terrorists seems to be muslims, how about a targeted approach. Normal people know that the problem at the moment is islam, why can't politicians see it.

      By the same logic, not all humans are terrorists, but all terrorists seem to be human. How about targeting all humans for surveillance?

      Oh wait, that's exactly what they wanna do...

      --
      "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  5. Idiots at work by whoever57 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I imagine that the Prime Minister thinks that he can force Google and other emails providers to hand over emails to GCHQ and, crucially, the Prime Minister cannot comprehend the idea that people can set up their own email server.

    The same argument goes for other protocols.

    Probably, no one, other than politicians and Dail Mail readers, takes this seriously. It will be forgotten about after the next election.

    --
    The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  6. Bottles and horses by CauseBy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In other news, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to put the genie back in the bottle. On the way to do that, he's going to shut the barn door and go looking for his horse.

  7. Gotta stop all those law abiding terrorists... by GoddersUK · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The terrorists have no problem with breaking the law to kill and murder people on kamikaze missions... but I'm sure they're nice reasonable people who will stop using encryption if we make it illegal.

  8. My encryption key by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    My encryption key is the full text of a copyrighted book that was never licensed to me nor anyone in my country.

    If I told you it or wrote it down, it would be public performance or copyright infringement.

    Yours,
    Trollface Q.C.

  9. With an Idiot in charge by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is why it will fail. Not because it would destroy everyone's privacy but because it will destroy the privacy of large, international companies. They will threaten to move out of the UK, the tories will panic and the bill will disappear until the idiot in charge forgets again and attempts to resurrect it for a third time in a couple of years from now (assuming he survives the general election).

  10. Re:Obviously on the right track by bondsbw · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you ban encryption, then only criminals will have encryption.

    --
    All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
  11. Re:Hope the muslims win then. by Ziest · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't wish any member of the US government to be put to death, what I do wish is for these bastards to be stripped of all their wealth and privileges and forced to live in a roach infested studio apartment in the bad section of town. Then I would force them to work as an assistant night fry cook at Walley's Wonderful World of Burgers in Festering Boil, Oklahoma. These people have forgotten, if they ever knew, what the rest of us put up with in order to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. We need to have these people learn what real work looks like.

    --
    Another day closer to redwood heaven
  12. Again, this has nothing to do with terrorism by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 5, Insightful

    All 3 Charlie Hebdo terrorists were known extremists and were under surveillance. The French authorities simply dropped the ball and fucked up - for lack of resources or for negligence.

    They could convincingly make a case for vastly increased means of putting known terrorists under 24/7 surveillance, but the Charlie Hebdo attacks are a really poor argument for enhanced decryption powers, because the FUCKING TERRORISTS HAD BEEN CLEARLY IDENTIFIED ALREADY!

    Clearly this is yet another exploitation of people's fear-du-jour to bring the world closer to a panopticon society. Me, I'm more scared of the government than muslim terrorists. 1984 anyone?

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  13. How to spot an authoritarian by dbIII · · Score: 5, Informative

    A "conservative" by dictionary definition does not advocate radical changes, such as removal of the right to communicate privately with banks, business associates, relatives, lovers etc.
    Keep that in mind next time one of these authoritarians tell you how conservative they are.

  14. I agree by Chrisq · · Score: 5, Funny

    UK Prime Minister Says Gov't Should Be Capable of Reading Any Communications

    Yes, literacy level in the government is appalling, something really should be done about it,

  15. UK = Hypocrites by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_reactions_to_the_Charlie_Hebdo_shooting

    Prime Minister David Cameron told the House of Commons, "[...] we stand squarely for free speech and democracy. [...]"

    This is the same country that:

    * Arrests people for saying "offensive" things on Facebook/Twitter
    * Prosecutes people for having "offensive" Japanese manga featuring lolicon, yet defends cartoon images of the Prophet Muhammed which some members of the Islamic community finds "offensive."
    * Sends GCHQ thugs around to a newspaper to smash their hard drives and other perphierals into a gazillion pieces
    * Has secret trials
    * Forces people to disclose their passwords for encryption volumes or other things such as websites and jails those who fail to do so

    Need I go on?