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Created January 19, 2015 00:48
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problems with "due process compatible" cryptosystems
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a.md

  • Barring serious fundamental crypto breakthroughs, it's not technically possible to introduce a back door for law enforcement without putting the users at risk. Any back door (or "front door," which isn't a real thing in cryptosystem design) represents an additional attack vector. For example, a hypothetical key store for an encrypted messaging service, even if designed to be used only after due process is applied, represents a huge risk to all users of the system, from other nation-states or other organizations.

  • More importantly in real-world scenarios, these encrypted messages will be around forever, and "due process" is malleable. In early-2000s America, one can imagine a suspension of due process in the investigation of a major terrorist attack or other act of war; in other countries, due process is redefined or taken away after a regime change. Then every message sent by anyone who has ever used the system is vulnerable.

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