The network of international secret service "Five Eyes" sees encrypted chat services as a major security risk. This also includes applications such as Telegram and Whatsapp. The association therefore appeals to the Internet industry to open a back door to encrypted content for them.
The states of the secret service network "Five Eyes" have appealed to the tech industry to give them access to the content of encrypted apps for law enforcement purposes. Although privacy on the Internet must be protected, this should not mean that the security authorities, as well as the technology companies themselves, "cannot take action against the most serious illegal online content and activities," said government representatives of the five states in a joint statement.
The end-to-end encryption in apps such as Facebook Messenger, Signal, Telegram and Whatsapp represents a "significant challenge for public safety," says the communiqué. The government officials appealed to companies to make the relevant content available to the authorities in a "readable and usable format" in criminal prosecution cases.
These app providers are currently encrypting the content of messages exchanged between the sender and recipient so that no one else – including the providers themselves – can see them. While this technology is designed to protect users' privacy, it also makes it impossible for the company to provide information related to criminal offenses to the authorities.
It is the strongest public appeal to date from governments to the Internet industry to open a back door to encrypted content for them. The "Five Eyes" group includes the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand, and their secret services cooperate particularly closely with one another. The declaration was also signed by India and Japan.
. (tagsToTranslate) technology (t) cybercrime (t) apps (t) secret services