
FBI Stymied by Islamic State’s Use of Encryption, Director Says - mudil
http://www.wsj.com/articles/fbi-stymied-by-islamic-states-use-of-encryption-director-says-1447866592
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The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said investigators have
been stymied by Islamic State’s use of encryption.

FBI Director James Comey, speaking at a cybersecurity conference Wednesday at
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said the bureau has tracked Islamic
State recruiting efforts on Twitter and reviewed private messages between
sympathizers after obtaining court orders.

But when Islamic State commanders find a recruit willing to die for the cause,
they move their communications over to encrypted platforms, “going dark,” he
said.

Mr. Comey didn’t say whether encryption was used in planning or executing the
Paris attacks, but the massacre loomed large at the conference, which included
law-enforcement officials from the U.S., U.K. and France.

His remarks were part of a public campaign by law-enforcement and intelligence
officials for access to encrypted phones and communications, in the face of
new software and devices promoted by companies as impervious to government
surveillance.

The aftermath of the Paris attacks could bolster the argument in favor of such
access after years of​ movement toward more customer privacy, fueled by
revelations of U.S. surveillance programs.

U.S. counterterrorism officials haven’t determined whether terrorists used
encrypted communications to plan or execute the Paris attacks, but they said
they expect evidence to emerge as the investigation continues.

Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Intelligence
Committee, said after a briefing by senior intelligence officials Tuesday that
the terrorists involved in the Paris attacks likely used “end-to-end”
encryption. He said encryption was likely because no direct communication
among the terrorists was detected.

Islamic State, which claimed credit for the bloodshed, has demonstrated its
technological savvy in tutorials for sympathizers on how to evade electronic
surveillance on the cheap, including an eight-minute video explaining the
eavesdropping capabilities of hostile governments and how they track phones.

Other Islamic State bulletins ​have analyzed the vulnerabilities of brands of
electronic equipment and messaging applications, ranking them based on their
ability to foil surveillance.

In separate remarks Wednesday, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance ​Jr..
said his office has been unable to access evidence on encrypted phones in 111
cases handled by his office. Newer operating systems on phones made by Apple
Inc. and Google can’t be unlocked without the user passcode, even by the
companies themselves.

Mr. Vance called for legislation that would mandate that mobile-phone
companies have the capacity to unlock a customer device when presented with a
search warrant. “We don’t want a key held by the government,” Mr. Vance said.

Neema Singh Guliani, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties
Union, called Mr. Vance’s proposal “misguided” and disputed assertions that
encrypted devices have undermined law enforcement.

The law advocated by Mr. Vance would “compromise the security of Americans by
making their personal information and communications more vulnerable to
cyberattack and theft,” she said.

