A magnifying glass is held in front of a computer screen in this picture illustration on hacking taken in Berlin May 21, 2013. (Photo : Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski)
A major United States-based tech industry group released its first statement on Thursday following the horrific Paris incident that shocked the whole world. The group is rejecting the call to give United States law enforcement authorities backdoor access and let them circumvent encryption technology.
The Information Technology Industry Council told Reuters that weakening encryption protocols in order to help the government monitor electronic communications "simply does not make sense." The group's president Dean Garfield said, "After a horrific tragedy like the Paris attacks, we naturally search for solutions: weakening encryption is not a solution."
The Information Technology Industry Council is a Washington-based organization that counts some of the biggest tech companies as its member. These include Google, Microsoft and Apple.
Investigations on the Paris attack reveal that some of the perpetrators used encrypted messaging platforms in planning their attack. Law enforcement agencies and intelligence communities' claim that the growing prevalence of encrypted messaging platforms like WhatsApp have greatly hampered their ability to monitor and thwart terrorist plots.
Despite reports claiming that Paris attackers relied on encrypted messaging platforms to plan their attacks, no hard evidence has come to light supporting the claim.
French authorities recovered a mobile phone at the scene of one of the attacks and was believed to be owned by one of the suspects. A close inspection of the mobile phone reveals that the owner used unencrypted text messages.
According to Info World, government agencies' accusation about the evils of encryption are not based on facts. The report added that this kind of rhetoric are used by people who do not fully understand the technology.
Tech experts said that loosening restrictions on encrypted messages may help government agencies track down terrorists. However, it will also open up a huge hole that could compromise the security of every person, terrorist or not, who uses the Internet.
