Encryption Increases Its Popularity and US Is in a Dilemma

Encryption has been used by more people over time and this has led to the NSA and the US Government to suggest new ways of accessing encrypted content.

The uprising course of encryption and the fact that its use has become a lot more frequent and continues on increasing in popularity has made the United States wonder how they should react effectively. It seems that there is a general need for the US Government to have access to encrypted content and the advanced security and encryption protocols used do not make this happen. As you may recall, Apple has already announced that they will no longer unlock their various products for the police, even when asked to do that via a warrant.

This comes as quite a shock, especially when combined with the recent revelations of Rogers from the NSA regarding his point on the matter of encryption. To be more specific, Roger has asked for the proper legislation that would cover his need to monitor encrypted content. What he needs is not a back door, rather than a front door with multiple locks. In other words this means that a possible solution to the problem of encryption lies beneath the combination of persons or agencies towards gaining the access required to encrypted content.

The White House and Barack Obama himself are not willing to decide on the spot, since this is a hot potato that has raised concerns and complaints all over the web. With the exponential increase of mobile devices (smartphones, iPhones and iPads, tablets etc.) and with the huge plethora of apps available to the public, encryption has become easier than ever to accomplish. What is more, with the use of VPN you can get advanced encryption that allows you to encode all of your data and leave nothing to chance in your effort to safeguard your privacy and anonymity.

Of course, what the NSA and the Government seem to be worried about regarding encryption is the fact that such a tactic allows criminals to act under cover and get their way, without anyone noticing. However, in the name of such a potential harm being done, it is not sure that the freedom to use encryption should be put at risk.

The Constitution does not jeopardize the human rights of a person, simply because there may be some other rights at stake. One good does not compensate for a bad that is being committed and this is some very thin ice that the US Government and officials are walking on. Fifth Amendment can be used in favour of the people who are actually to blame and doing something that might backfire does not seem like the perfect way to go in the United States.
The people have become more aware of the benefits that encryption offers, including the enhancement of their anonymity online that in turn leads to the lack of problems related to hacking or identity theft incidents. Having that in mind, the importance of allowing encryption to go on benefiting people is indisputable. What remains is for us to see how the NSA and the US Government are going to balance between their need to penetrate the privacy of the citizens and the rights of the citizens to continue encrypting their communication and personal files.

Written by: Ali Qamar, Founder/Chief Editor at SecurityGladiators.com

Author Bio:
Ali Qamar is an Internet security research enthusiast who enjoys “deep” research to dig out modern discoveries in the security industry. He is the founder and chief editor at SecurityGladiators.com, an ultimate source for worldwide security awareness having supreme mission of making the internet more safe, secure, aware and reliable. Follow Ali on Twitter @AliQammar57

Edited by Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs –  Encryption, US)