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Internet Firms To Be Banned From Offering Unbreakable Encryption Under New UK Laws (telegraph.co.uk)

Retron writes: Despite statements from the minister for internet safety and security Baroness Shields last week that the UK government would not require software developers to build backdoors into their products, the Telegraph is reporting that the UK Government is going to ban companies from offering 'unbreakable' encryption, effectively requiring a backdoor in products from the likes of Google and Apple. The reasons given are that they don't want the likes of terrorists and paedophiles to communicate in places the Police can't reach. A Home Office spokesman said: “The Government is clear we need to find a way to work with industry as technology develops to ensure that, with clear oversight and a robust legal framework, the police and intelligence agencies can access the content of communications of terrorists and criminals in order to resolve police investigations and prevent criminal acts."

4 of 418 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Sigh by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Informative

    They could. It depends on who wins. The industry lobbyists (extremely influential in Brussels) who don't give a rodent's behind for your privacy but do not want the risk and hassle that comes with a ban on crypto. Or the hawkish commissioners and their backers in national governments, who do not give a rodent's behind for your privacy and who would absolutely abhor "clear oversight and a robust legal framework" around surveillance.

    And don't think for a second that this is about terrorists and paedophiles. There are enough crypto products for them to choose from already.

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    If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  2. Re:Sigh by gweihir · · Score: 4, Informative

    Also, by definition, no encryption is unbreakable, you just need a few thousand years to crack it.

    Untrue. Encryption may be "Information-Theoretically secure". These cannot be broken with just enough computing power. For example, for ordinary text, this is even true for the venerable Enigma if less than 4000 Bits (if I remember things correctly) of ciphertext are available and the key was chosen at random. One-time pad based encryptions are never breakable, the only information you get is the maximum number of Entropy in the message, nothing else.

    You wrong statement is one of the often-repeated untruths about encryption.

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    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  3. Re:All encryotions is "breakable" by serviscope_minor · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's simply 100% mathematically wrong.

    One time pad is information theoretic secure. It is impossible to break.

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    SJW n. One who posts facts.
  4. Re:Sigh by flowerp · · Score: 4, Informative

    Excuse me, you get ANY desired message by trying all possible one time pads.

    The Bible
    Hamlet
    Andy Weir's The Martian

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    --- Eat my sig.