ISIS Supporters Abandon U.S. Encryption Tools As Apple-FBI Fight Rages

blottsie writes: Islamic State militants and supporters are promoting strong encryption tools from outside the United States that the American government cannot touch with legislation. In the last month, Islamic State supporters have promoted security software from Finland, Romania, America, France, the Czech Republic, Canada, Panama, Germany, Switzerland, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and other nations, a Daily Dot review found. The international availability of encryption technology, of which Islamic State militants are well aware, underscores FBI Director James Comey's long-held desire to build an international legal regime to deal with the problems posed by encryption, what he calls "going dark."

Comments

Can't roll their own?

[unixisc]

Islamic State supporters have promoted security software from Finland, Romania, America, France, the Czech Republic, Canada, Panama, Germany, Switzerland, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and other nations, a Daily Dot review found.

For the people that love (falsely) claiming that they came up w/ the number system and zero, it's fascinating that they have to promote encryption software from the above countries - ALL non-Muslim - to protect their jihad-plotting communications from being broken into. Can't they get encryption software from Islamic paradises, like Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Emirates, Iran, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, et al? Or (gasp), even roll their own in their labs in Raqqa, Mosul, Sirte...

Re:Confused

[aldousd666]

If you outlaw good cryptography, then only outlaws will have good cryptography

Way to screw yourself, FBI

[rs1n]

Before the big commotion between the FBI and Apple, they (the FBI) at least had a chance of breaking into a phone (made by Apple) that was used by an ISIS member (by the help of Apple, through legal means). Now the FBI has essentially shot themselves in the foot. Their demands have basically been a loud horn warning ISIS to stay away from the very technology (phones by American companies) that they could actually get access to... 'cause... well, good luck getting foreign companies to make backdoors for you.

Re:Way to screw yourself, FBI

[SvnLyrBrto]

More than that, Apple to date has been handing over information which they actually had in their possession... iCloud data and so forth... in response to valid warrants and subpoenas. It was specifically the FBI's abuse of the all writs act, demanding that they rebuild iOS in order to introduce a security-crippling backdoor, to which Apple objected; not cooperation with law enforcement in general.

With their current overreach, and the public spectacle they decided to make out of it, they not only cut themselves off from any information that would have been on the phones themselves in the future; they've pretty much assured that anyone using an iPhone as part of a nefarious endeavor will make sure not to upload anything to iCloud going forward. I seem to recall a fable about killing the goose that lays golden eggs.

Re:This article is propaganda

[Lab Rat Jason]

Thank God! Anonymous Coward is the worst member of this site... always stirring up trouble! I'll be glad to see him go!

cheating at the game.

[nimbius]

the US is a country spending nearly 1.4 trillion dollars per year on defense. It dwarfs the spending of the next 7 largest countries combined. Americans endured this sort of breakneck spending for 50 years under the guise that, once communism fell, we would embrace a newfound wave of peace in the west.

instead we've invented boogeymen by hook and by crook. We invented ISIS by the iraq war. We invented the iraq war by weapons of mass destruction. we invented the war on terror by 9/11. we invented 9/11 by founding and training al-quaeda. we invented al-quaeda by funding an training the mujahadeen. we invented the war in afghanistan by proxy through our desire to defeat russias communism. we invented communism as a threat through the implicit desire of our oligarchy and capital class to disarm any real objection to capitalism by any means necessary.

now we're faced with a guerilla enemy, as we were when we created most of our proxy wars in central and south america...but the rules have changed. our "wars" before were innocuous as they werent winnable or loseable, only profitable. we would fight until public opinion turned, then broker a peace deal and leave. Sometimes with oil contracts, other times with infrastructure contracts. Now with the advent of a perfect shield by which our newly created enemy can conceal their intent, we are all but on a level playing field. an actor needs no longer obtain advanced weapons or tactics to defeat us, they merely need to plan extensively.

the solution is to step back from the carter doctrine of foreign policy, and deprecate our dependency on defense economy.

Re:cheating at the game.

[tnk1]

I'm sorry, but while there are definitely unforeseen consequences in some of those events, we didn't "invent" communism as a threat. Communism did that all by themselves. Communism from the beginning was a theory that expected the export of revolution, and violent revolution at that. It was right and proper to fight it head on. While workers were certainly being exploited by owners, there are still other ways than exporting violence.

Now, if you were to suggest that it is possible that fighting monsters makes it easier to make a monster out of yourself, I would not disagree. However, let's not lose ourselves in the blame game and mistake cause for effect. There are things you fight against because they are wrong, but there is also a battle within to ensure that you don't become just as bad. There are two different things.

Losing the second battle doesn't mean the first was wrong to fight. If someone was to attack my wife, I would be 100% right to get that person away from her, and put him in a position that he could not hurt her again by knocking him on his ass.

However, if I was then to go burn his house down and torture and then kill his family because I was so consumed by rage that I wanted to end his entire genetic line, then I've gone too far.

In the second "part" of the scenario one could certainly suggest to me that I have done worse to this person than he ever did to me, but don't tell me that I had no right to end the initial threat that he posed. The question instead is one of self-control and perspective.

Should we have done everything possible to end Communism, including supporting dictators? I don't think so. Should we have opposed Communism directly and without compromise for the evils in that system? Absolutely yes. We made the right decision, we just failed to avoid entering the mud with the pigs.

Re:"US" != "America"

[tnk1]

Yes, but no other country in the Americas goes by "America". You either say it is from the Americas (which is probably what they meant) or you say North or South America.

You could say that calling it the "United States" is also wrong, because Mexico is actually officially, the "United States of Mexico". The fact is that, no one from Mexico or the US really cares.

Referring to the US as "America" is pretty much accepted by everyone, including the other people living on the American continents. They don't really care if the US has used the shorthand.

And I should also note that the USA is the oldest existing independent country in the Americas, so the short hand made even more sense at the beginning.

Re:Ain't gonna stop a hellfire missile....

[GlennC]

Analysts will double check the location to verify that the target is legit before sending off a drone.

That's a good one...their check will be, "Are they brown and in the Middle East? Then we're good to go."

After all the blown up wedding parties in Afghanistan, the military is trying to avoid those mistakes.

They're only trying to avoid the publicity.

Re:Not dark.

[penguinoid]

But seriously, encryption is for the government what a time-locked fridge is for a fatso. They just can't help themselves, they got no impulse control, they need help. Encryption is the solution to help a government that can't help themselves.