FBI Chief Calls Unbreakable Encryption 'Urgent Public Safety Issue' (reuters.com)

The inability of law enforcement authorities to access data from electronic devices due to powerful encryption is an "urgent public safety issue," FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Tuesday in remarks that sought to renew a contentious debate over privacy and security. From a report: The FBI was unable to access data from nearly 7,800 devices in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 with technical tools despite possessing proper legal authority to pry them open, a growing figure that impacts every area of the agency's work, Wray said during a speech at a cyber security conference in New York. "This is an urgent public safety issue," Wray added, while saying that a solution is "not so clear cut."

Comments

Re:I'm not sure it is

[CrimsonAvenger]

even though reducing the number of weapons in the hands of the good guys does reduce the number of weapons in the hands of bad guys by reducing the number of weapons out there in the world that can easily be stolen, de-serialed, and sold on the black market.

Off topic, but you do realize that repeating firearms could be manufactured with the technology available 150 years ago, right? Yes, they were making repeating firearms 150+ years ago. Yes, even cartridge weapons (as opposed to revolvers loaded with loose powder and ball, which they also made then).

So, no, taking guns out of the hands of the good guys doesn't really reduce the ability of the bad guys to get guns, if they really want them....