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Tag: Interpol

  • Interpol Delays Encryption Criticism After Pushback

    Interpol Delays Encryption Criticism After Pushback

    A week ago news broke that the FBI had drafted a resolution for Interpol to release condemning the use of strong encryption. Ultimately the resolution was not passed, with Interpol contacting Nicole Perloth with the New York Times to deny the resolution was ever under consideration.

    When the story first came out, we wrote:

    “There is no doubt the resolution was drafted, with both Reuters and Ars Technica having seen a copy of it. The only question is whether Reuters’ sources about Interpol’s intentions were incorrect, or whether Interpol is attempting to backpedal after the news broke.”

    In an update by Reuters, it appears Interpol was backpedaling.

    “The international police organization Interpol put off plans to condemn the spread of strong encryption after objections by tech companies and civil liberties advocates, according to two people familiar with the matter.

    “After the Reuters article appeared, Facebook and others complained that strong encryption also deters criminal hacking and surveillance of peaceful political activists by repressive regimes, the people said.

    “Conference organizers told some who had attended that they were surprised by the feedback and delayed putting out a statement while they reconsidered, those people said.”

    Interpol is still denying there was ever any plans to release the statement and the agency did not return Reuters’ request for comments.

    If Reuters’ sources are correct, it is reassuring Interpol was willing to hold off in response to feedback and criticism of the proposal. At the same time, it’s still disconcerting the agency was surprised by the pushback and shows how little understood the privacy issue is—even by those who should understand it best.

  • FBI Recruits Interpol to Condemn End-to-End Encryption

    FBI Recruits Interpol to Condemn End-to-End Encryption

    Attorney General William Barr and his Australian and British counterparts made headlines recently when they wrote an open letter urging Facebook to create backdoors in its encryption. Not content with open letters, the FBI has drafted a resolution for Interpol to release urging companies to create methods that would allow access to encrypted data.

    Sources told Reuters the resolution “would be released without a formal vote by representatives of the roughly 60 countries in attendance.” A draft of the resolution seen by Reuters uses the threat of child exploitation as the reason behind the need for weakened encryption.

    “Service providers, application developers and device manufacturers are developing and deploying products and services with encryption which effectively conceals sexual exploitation of children occurring on their platforms.

    “Tech companies should include mechanisms in the design of their encrypted products and services whereby governments, acting with appropriate legal authority, can obtain access to data in a readable and useable format.”

    According to Nicole Perloth at the New York Times, however Interpol is denying the resolution was ever considered:

     

    There is no doubt the resolution was drafted, with both Reuters and Ars Technica having seen a copy of it. The only question is whether Reuters’ sources about Interpol’s intentions were incorrect, or whether Interpol is attempting to backpedal after the news broke.

    Either way, it’s another disturbing escalation of attempts to weaken end-to-end encryption. The draft resolution itself is misleading in nature. Ars reports the resolution claims “technologists agree” that creating systems that “\[allow] for lawful access to data, while maintaining customer privacy…can be implemented in a way that would enhance privacy while maintaining strong cyber security.”

    In point of fact, nothing could be further from the truth. As previously highlighted, mathematicians, cryptologist and privacy experts all agree there is no silver bullet. It is simple math—there is no way for encryption to be strong and protect its users, while simultaneously having backdoors or other means for companies or governments to access the encrypted data.

    If Interpol could be persuaded to condemn strong encryption, it would make it easier for countries around the world to pass laws requiring companies to create backdoors. Such a result would be disastrous for journalists, whistleblowers, political dissidents, refugees and anyone else who values their privacy.

  • Interpol Sting Nets 25 Suspected Anonymous Hackers

    In what appears to be a coordinated sing operation named “Operation Unmask” by International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), 25 suspected members of the hacker group Anonymous were arrested yesterday. The operation, which netted suspects in more than a dozen cities in Europe and Latin America, was carried out after going through computer logs in order to trace IP addresses. It also netted 10 suspects in Argentina, six in Chile and five in Colombia, Spanish police said.

    Anonymous is a worldwide hacker group that feels its mission is to keep the internet free for all. The international hacktivist group in the past has mainly focused on the entertainment business. But more recently has been getting involved in political situations. Taking credit for bringing down the websites of the FBI, CIA, DoD, IRS, and many more. Because Anonymous is not an “official” group, with no real leadership, pinning them down has become a very difficult task for international law enforcement.

    The group Anonymous uses a very simple hacking tool called a DDoS attack. The attack, a distributed denial-of-service, basically sends so many requests to the server that it cannot handle them all. In effect overloading the server and crashing the associated website.

    In response to the arrests, Anonymous has taken down the INTERPOL website interpol.int. The website was down for approximately 30 min today.

    (image)@anonops
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    AnonOps    http://t.co/gJaW2vwT TANGO DOWN II 404 Interpol, #Anonymous is not a criminal organization.(image) 15 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto