“We disrupted efforts to kill people” around July 4 — Federal Bureau of Investigation director

Comey and another Justice Department official briefed the Senate Judiciary Committee and complained that keys necessary to decrypt communications and electronic devices often reside “solely in the hands of the end user”-which they said is emblematic of the so-called “Going Dark problem”””.

A group of computer code experts said Tuesday that law enforcement cannot be given special access to encrypted communications without opening the door to “malicious” actors.

And we need to ensure that responsibilities imposed on technology companies do not endanger the security of our users’ information, or endanger network security more broadly. But, she added, “given the gravity and urgency of the situation, I think it’s important that we kick it up a notch”.

But they face fierce opposition from Silicon Valley companies who say encryption safeguards customers’ privacy rights and offers protections from hackers, corporate spies and other breaches.

It comes a month after an open letter to Barack Obama’s administration from a consortium of influential tech companies which included Microsoft, Facebook, IBM and Apple.

“New law enforcement requirements are likely to introduce unanticipated, hard to detect security flaws”, said the report, issued by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He notes that “there are lots of good things” about strong encryption that can protect us “from thieves of all kinds”. “I don’t want to scare people by saying, ‘I’m certain people will die.’ What I’m certain of is this: On the current course and speed, my ability to discharge my number one responsibility will be materially diminished in the not too distant future”, Comey said. “It protects my children”. It is what protects our bank records, our health records, and other personal information. “It is a great thing”.

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) challenged Yates as to whether the government has numbers backing up its claims that encryption thwarts law enforcement or national security investigations.

The concern is especially acute at a time when the Islamic State has used social media to reach followers in the United States, then moved the conversation to encrypted platforms, the officials say. “The tools we are asked to use are increasingly ineffective”, Comey said.

Deputy U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates, who testified alongside Comey, said the government is not asking for so-called “back doors” into encryption. Therefore, he said, the government should have a few way to access data protected by encryption.

“These proposals are unworkable in practice, raise enormous legal and ethical questions, and would undo progress on security at a time when Internet vulnerabilities are causing extreme economic harm,” the tech experts wrote.

In what is rather unsurprising news, the US government and specifically its law enforcement heads believe that encryption software is only aiding those who have something to hide, particularly criminals and terrorists. “Undermining strong encryption could make our data more vulnerable”, he said.

And Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the panels senior Democrat, said he wasnt convinced how much it would help to facilitate law enforcements access to encrypted material.

Technology companies, however, have pushed back strongly against the government’s position, calling the concerns overblown and vowing to steadfastly protect their customers’ privacy.