Maybe FBI Director James Comey should call the CIA.
Speaking at a cybersecurity conference on Wednesday, Comey said encryption is hindering his agency’s crime-fighting efforts, disclosing that his agents couldn’t crack 1,200 of the 2,800 devices they had the legal authority to open between September and November 2016 “with any technique.”
“That’s a big deal,” he said at the Boston College event.
Comey said he’s always favored “strong encryption” but added that “it is making more and more of the room of what the FBI investigates dark.”
For years, he said, encryption was mostly limited to countries and sprawling criminal enterprises.
But the secrecy technique has been growing since former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden leaked classified data about US spying practices.
“These apps are now a default feature of much less sophisticated actors, drug dealers, bank robbers, pedophiles, some terrorists. Their shadow is spreading across more of our work,” he said.
The FBI chief also said “we need to built trust between the government and private sector,” adding this isn’t the “FBI versus Apple.”
During his talk, Comey didn’t discuss the WikiLeaks dump of CIA documents a day earlier that shows how the spy agency can turn everyday electronic devices like Apple iPhones and Google Androids, as well as Samsung smart TVs, into covert listening devices.
The trove of intelligence data released on Tuesday also revealed the CIA’s ability to exploit popular apps like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram by snatching messages before they can be encrypted.
In a light-hearted moment, Comey assured the gathering that he plans to be around a while, having served just a third of his 10-year term.
“You’re stuck with me for another 6 1/2 years,” he said.