The FBI has asked the US Congress to legally reduce protection iOS and Android devices

Habré recently published article that the FBI is against encryption of user data on smartphones. In particular, the FBI director James Koumi (James B Comey) delivered a speech on October 16 at the Brookings Institution (Washington), trying to convey to legislators and the public point of view of safety.

It is understood that neither one nor the other is not penetrated, and now the FBI appealed to Congress requesting legislation to weaken the protection of mobile devices and applications. Namely - to amend some laws allow (or rather - making), the manufacturer reserves the loopholes in the software of smartphones and tablets, for public safety agencies.

In particular, we are talking about the law of CALEA (Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act), enacted in 1994. This law fixed telephony operators obliged to leave the possibility for security agencies to connect to any lines.

In this law, for obvious reasons, there is no mention of wireless data transmission, about encryption on cell phones and other new types of communication and protection from listening. The result - in government have a legal right to obtain information from operators, but in many cases there is no technical possibility to listen to the desired channel. "We have the legal right to intercept and listen to communications and to receive information by court order, but often lack the technical ability to do it," - said the director of the FBI in the above-mentioned address.

Interestingly, earlier Koumi opposed all sorts of backdoors, speaking for the introduction of transparent procedures for connecting the security agencies to individual devices and communication channels. Now it appears that his position has changed.

The FBI is asking Congress to change the CALEA, adding several amendments allowing leave a loophole for the FBI, NSA and other comrades, a loophole that allows to listen to the communication line and the individual devices.

Some politicians in the United States has opposed such innovations. But the battle, it seems, is just beginning.

Via theverge

Source: habrahabr.ru/post/241325/