The report from the Joint Committee is not as good as it could be - many recommendations to get issues clarified but still basically agreeing with what the bill is trying to do, even the data retention.
One key comment is :-
Government still needs to make explicit on the face of the Bill that CSPs offering
end-to-end encrypted communication or other un-decryptable communication
services will not be expected to provide decrypted copies of those communications
if it is not practicable for them to do so.
That sounds good, and I would agree, but sadly it still does not go far enough. It is still unclear if an order to maintain a capability could require CSPs to engineer things so that they are not offering end-to-end encryption or so that it is somehow practicable for them to decrypt it.
CSPs still do not know. The bill needs to be clear that offering communications services, where the content cannot be accessed, is permitted. It also needs to make clear that continuing to offer such services, in that way, even with an intercept warrant, or a "maintenance of capabilities" order, is permitted.
As I say, criminals can send encrypted messages - we need this to be clear for everyone else. It is possible to do the end-to-end encryption yourself, so why should companies not be able to offer such services to customers freely and therefore help all of the non-criminals be safe on the internet as well as the criminals.
So, we are still not clear even if they follow that recommendation.
Do sign my petition:-
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/121521
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Then there's steganography, where I don't even need to exchange texts with John the Terrorist. I can put up images, and send messages without anyone being any the wiser. With low payloads and original images, that's impossible to detect.
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Thank you, once again.
ReplyDeleteYou've been on Sky, you've been in the House, you're writing here. Each has their own particular audience characteristics.
Have you thought about (or have I missed) something on the fringes of the technical media? The Register seems quite keen on this kind of stuff at the moment, but currently without the depth you could bring to the picture. Maybe there are other better outlets too.
Just a thought. Best of luck anyway.
And don't forget, everyone: why doesn't "nothing to hide, nothing to fear" apply to politicians (Wilson doctrine, Freedom of Information Act, TTIP draft, etc)?