The misguided war on end-to-end encryption

The government’s war on encryption undermines our security and our economy

By Matthew Prescod

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is critical technology millions of people rely on every day, shielding private communications from prying eyes and bad actors. Lamentably, our political class thinks differently. Over the last decade, successive British governments have waged an ill-conceived war on E2EE – threatening digital security and the UK tech sector. Even if you have nothing to hide, you have everything to fear from this misguided government crusade.

In the wake of January 2015’s Paris terror attacks, then-Prime Minister David Cameron threatened to ban encrypted messaging services upon re-election unless the government was granted backdoors – hidden methods designed to bypass existing security protocols. The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) brought this reality closer, expanding the surveillance powers of the security services. In Section 253, the Act empowers the Home Secretary to issue Technical Capability Notices (TCN) to telecommunication firms, obligating them to maintain a capability to assist law enforcement. Although the wording is vague, many experts believe it effectively compels firms to implement backdoors.

Photo by Philipp Katzenberger on Unsplash