Law enforcement needs more encryption talks, say crime-tackling experts

Law enforcement bodies are continuing to battle against encryption, looking for new ways of working with private firms in a bid to track down terrorists and criminals.

Experts from Europol, the National Crime Agency and the FBI spoke in London at the recent Infosecurity Europe conference, where they discussed global collaboration, attack contribution, and criminal behaviour, in addition to any problems that come with encryption.

Europol advisor Professor Alan Woodward described himself as a fan of encryption due to the fact that it is available and not going anywhere.

He said that if you take anything away from encryption, you make things easier, not just for those you consider friends, but also for your enemies. Should backdoors be used, he added that people such as him will be playing with it.

He continued:

“I do totally agree with the principle, I think it was said by the Prime Minister of the UK, that we don’t want places where extremists or criminals can have conservations that we can’t listen to. It means the industry has to cooperate with government.”

If encryption is weakened, it will make life more difficult for cyber security professionals, which in turn adds to the challenger for firms in hiring them. SMEs will need to give higher priority to their I.T. security recruitment and ensure that they are getting the most skilled personnel that they can accommodate to make the most out of encryption, but also any other tools at their disposal.