Encryption May Impede Law Enforcement

Welcome Guest. | Log In| Register | Membership Benefits

May 18, 1999 (5:15 PM EDT)

By Mary Mosquera,

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- State and local police are worried that when encryption use becomes widespread, it will make catching criminals more difficult, an attorney who represents law enforcement said Tuesday.

"When you put encryption on the street level, we'll have a difficult time," said Gene Voegtlin, legislative counsel for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

If Congress passes legislation that eliminates export controls on strong encryption products, it will stimulate broad use of encryption. "The ability of state and local authorities to fight drugs will be severely limited or completely destroyed," Voegtlin told the House International Relations Committee.

The committee is one of the panels that must approve the Security and Freedom Through Encryption, or SAFE, before it reaches a full House vote.

Currently, U.S. companies are limited in the strength of encryption software they may export for sale overseas; there are no limits on encryption domestically. Encryption software scrambles data so it is unreadable for anyone but the intended recipient.

The administration has liberalized controls on encryption for financial, medical, and insurance data. In December, the United States and 32 industrialized nations of the Wassenaar Arrangement, mostly in Europe, agreed that governments may, at their discretion, control hardware and software exports above 56-bit length and mass market encryption products over 64 bits. Administration officials cited the agreement, but lawmakers said the accord was voluntary.

Critics of the administration's policy say that foreign companies are picking up the slack left by U.S. companies whose hands are tied by export controls. Companies in 29 countries, especially France, Japan, and Israel, are eroding the dominance in strong encryption software once held by U.S. companies, said Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-Va.), who introduced the legislation with 250 supporters from both parties in February.

Law-enforcement and security agencies said that unbreakable encryption will impede their investigations and harm public safety. "We're getting into a world where everyone has encryption. Will the wiretaps we use in state and local investigations become useless, and what kind of world is that?" said Ron Lee, associate deputy Attorney General at the Justice Department.

Encryption will become widely used by both consumers and businesses as it becomes inexpensive and easier to use, and there is a security-management infrastructure with key recovery put in place, said Barbara McNamara, deputy director, National Security Agency.

"Those who want to do something illicit already have the wherewithal to do it now," said Rep. Robert Menendez (R-N.J.). McNamara agreed they can't stop all criminals. "But just because someone speeds through a school zone doesn't mean we raise the speed limit," she said.

Voegtlin said state police chiefs whom he polled had no evidence with which to quantify their fear that encryption will impede criminal investigations. "The evidence is anecdotal, but the horse has left the barn," he said, once export controls are lifted.

Goodlatte suggested the administration had an "insidious plan" that will ultimately mandate that U.S. companies provide key recovery to unlock encrypted data if they want to do business with the government. Lee said, "To fulfill our statutory obligations, the government may decide it needs to encourage some form of key recovery. It could include federal contractors." The government, by law, must have the ability to make information public at some point in time, he said.