DiMeglio1

AnthonyDiMeglio
ProfessorWebb
English1010
21April2016

Encryption:ProtectingourPersonalIdentitythroughMobileDevices.
Inaworldwheretechnologyisconstantlychangingandevolving,takingthehumanrace
tonewtechnologicallevels,individualscancontroltheirentirelivesinthepalmoftheirhands.
Mobiledevicemanufacturersarebeingpressuredincreatingabackdoorentranceforlaw
enforcementagenciestoutilizewhileatthesametimemaintainingtheintegrityofthesecurityof
thedeviceprotectingtheuser'spersonalinformationcontainedinthatdevice.Recentlythishas
causedafirestormwhichhaseruptedacrossthenationandthroughoutthemediainresponseto
thisproposal.Therearetwosidesandviewstothistheargument,andtheybothmakeextremely
validpoints,ononehandlawenforcementagenciesarguethatavaluabletoolincrime
preventionbyobtaininginformationaccessibleonmobiledevices.Onthecontrary,mobile
devicemanufacturersalongwithsecurityfirmsassertthatpersonalprivacyistherightof
everybody,notaprivilege.Theyalsowarnthepublicthatinmakingbackdoorswillcausethe
devicetohaveanexploitthatcouldpotentiallyallowsomeoneotherthanlawenforcementto
gaineasyaccesstothedevice.
Itisessentialforthesafetyandsecurityofeverybodythatweallencryptourdevicesthis
willensuremaximumprotectionofourdigitalinformationthatwekeepcontainedwithinthe
device.Thegovernmentisportrayingthatencryptionisaprivilegeandnotaright,andare

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insistingthattheuseofencryptionisgettinginthewayoftheirinvestigations.Oneoflaw
enforcement'sclaimsisthattheyaremissingoutonrelevant,valuableinformationstoredonthe
criminalsdevicesincetheycannotgainaccesstoencrypteddevices.Itappearsthatthe
Governmentisonlyfocusingontheirsideofthesituationandnotthecurrentissueasawhole.
Theyhavenotfocusedonthenegativerepercussionswhichwilloccuriftheyforcemobile
devicemanufacturerstoeitherplaceabackdoorintothesedevicesoriftheyareorderedtostop
givingtheusertheoptiontoencrypttheirdevices.However,encryptionisarightforeverybody
andnotaprivilegethatcanbetakenawayfromsocietyitisparamounttokeeptheencryption
onalldevices.Therearemanydifferentdebatesonthisissueswhicharecurrentlyunderwayin
wherethegovernmentistryingtogaintheupperhandontheirside,buttheyhavesofarbeen
unsuccessfulinachievingthisupperhand.
Themostrecentofthesedebates,whichisintenselycoveredbythedifferentnew
networksandmediasources,hasbeenthelegalbattlebetweenAppleInc.andtheFederal
BureauofInvestigation(FBI).TheFBIhadSyedRizwanFarooks(oneofthetwoSan
BernardinoShooters)iPhoneintheirpossession.However,thecomplicationwhichfacedthem
wastogetthephoneunlockedtoaccesstheinformationcontainedwithinit.Notonlydidthey
needtounlocktheencryptediPhonetheywerealsofacedwiththepossiblepotentialthatthe
devicehaditsselfdestructionmechanismenabled.Ifthisfeaturehappenedtobeenabledit
wouldcausethedevicetodeletepermanentlyalldatacontainedwithinitaftertherehadbeenten
consecutivefailedpasswordattempts.EvenafterajudgehadorderedtheApplecompanyto
assisttheFBIinfindingawaytounlocktheSanBernardinoshooter'siPhonethecompanyhad
refusedtopartakeinthis,theydidthisfortworeasons.Thefirstreasonisthemostimportant

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factor,whenadeviceisencrypteditcanbenearimpossibletogainaccesstoit.Onasidenoteto
goalongwiththisclaimthethirdpartycompanywhichendedupassistingtheFBIinunlocking
thedevicehadhackedintothephoneitself,thismaycausemanytowonderwhyAppleInc.did
notjustdothis.ThethirdpartycompanywhichaidedandassistedtheFBIfocusestheirbusiness
ongainingaccesstoencrypteddevicessuchastheiPhone,andalthoughtheFBIisconcealing
theidentityoftheenterprise,thereisevidencethatthecorporationwascomposedofgraymarket
hackersonlyinitforthemoney.ThesecondreasonwouldbethatevenifAppleInc.couldgain
accesstotheiPhone,theywouldnotwanttoadmittoanexploitthattheyleftinthephones
software.Doingsotheywouldfearthattheywouldlosesomeoftheircustomerswhichwould
notonlycausefortheirsalestogodownbuttheywouldalsotakeahitinthestockmarket,it
couldbringtheirsharesdown.
Lawenforcementagenciesarestartingtoworrythatencryptionwillprovideasafehaven
forallkindsofcriminalsandterroristtoconcealandstoretheinformationthattheydonotwant
anyonetovieworobtain.Everythingfromtheconversationsthathaveamongsteachotherto
datarelatingtoothercriminalactivitiescanbestoredonthesedevices.Whatthegovernmentis
callingforisthatmobiledevicemanufacturersshouldbeorderedandforcedtoimplementa
backdoorforlawenforcementagenciestobeabletoutilizeintheeventthattheyneedoreven
couldusethesuspectdatatoaidtheminacriminalinvestigation.Thiscreatesaproblemas
KevinBankstonputsit,"It'snotpossibletobuildsomespecialaccesscapabilityforthe
governmentintoourmostsecuredatawithoutalsomakingitvulnerabletootherbadactors,".
Whichgoestoshowthatthereisnowaytoallowforthegovernmenttohavetheirsocalled

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backdoorandbeablealsotoguaranteethesecurityofthedeviceowner'spersonalidentifiable
information(PII),itisjustnotpossible.
Notallagenciesarewantingabackdoortobewrittenintothesoftwarecodingofthese
mobiledevices,theNationalSecurityAgency(NSA)isjustoneoftheseagenciesthatare
suggestingadifferentsolution.NakashimaandBartonpointedoutthattheNationalSecurity
Agencydoesnotwantabackdooraccesstodevices,buttheywouldpreferafrontdoor
accesstothem.TheNSAhassuggestedtheuseofakeywhichwouldbedividedupamongst
differentagenciessonooneparticularagencycouldaccessthedevicealone.Thereisavery
positiveoutcomewhichwouldoccurbyimplementingthisidea,inhavingdifferentagenciesin
possessionofapieceofakeywouldrequirethemtocometogethertodeliverallthepieces.In
doingthisitwouldpromotethevariousagenciestoworkalongsideeachotherandtogetheron
theinvestigation,itwouldgivemoreresourcestosolvethecurrentcrimebeinginvestigatedand
wouldhavethepotentialtopreventfuturecrimes.
Regardlessofthefactthatthisisaterrificideaandtheintentisgood,therearecompanies
outtherethatdisagreewiththisideaonesuchcompanyisYahoo.TheybelievethattheNSA,
justliketheotheragencies,isaskingforsomethingthatisnotreasonable.Itisnotpossibleto
providelawenforcementagencieswithabypassmethod,thatwouldallowthemtoaccesslocked
andencrypteddeviceswhilesimultaneouslyensuringthesecurityoftheuser'sinformation
containedonthedevicefromidentitytheft.AnotherpossibleavenuethattheNSAsuggestedwas
thatofadatadumpsystemwhichwouldrequirealldatasentfromamobiledevicetoget
stiffenedthroughaserverwhereacopyofthatdataisstoredforasetamountoftimeoruntillaw

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enforcementagenciesrequirethem.Thismethodwouldallowlawenforcementagenciesto
accesstheinformationthattheyneedwhilestillprotectingthepeople.
Inestablishingadatadumpsystem,itwouldsolvebothcomplicationsthatlaw
enforcementagenciesarecurrentlybeingfacedwith.TheUnitedStatesGovernmentwouldbe
abletoprovideasystemtolawenforcementagenciesthatwouldcontaintheinformationwhich
theyareseekingfromencryptedandlockeddevices,whilesimultaneouslyprotectingthe
integrityoftheuser'sdevice.DataDumpingsimplyputthefilteringofalldatasentfroma
mobiledevicethroughadataserverforlongtermstorage,oncearrivingatthedatacenterit
wouldbesavedinthestoragesystemandthenpassedalongcontinuingtotheintendedrecipient
ordestination.
Tounderstandthismethodevenbetter,datadumpingcanbecomparedtoworkingalot
likehowanemailaccountworks.Oncetheemailissentfromthesender'sdeviceitwillfirstgo
totheemailhostserver(suchasGmail)andthenitissavedtothatuser'saccount,whichis
conventionallylocatedundertheSentMailsubfolder.Itwillthenleavethesendingemail
serverandwillbereceivedbytherecipient'semailserver(suchasHotmail).Oncetherecipient
receivesthemessage,itwillbestoredintheirinbox.DataDumpingmobiledeviceswouldwork
inmuchofthesameway.Forinstance,atextmessagewouldleavethemobiledeviceandarrive
atagovernmentserverwhereitwouldbestoredSentMailintheeventthatitneedstobe
retrievedlateronbyalawenforcementagencieswiththeappropriatecourtdocumentations.
Fromthegovernmentserveritwillcontinuetotheintendedrecipientarrivingontheirdeviceasa
newmessageinboxwheretherecipientisabletonowviewit.

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Byusingthedatadumpmethod,itwouldcertainlyprovidemoresecuritytotheuserthan
havingabackdoorbutintothedeviceitself.However,itwouldcostthetaxpayersa
considerableamountofmoneyforthegovernmenttostoreeverybitofdatasentinAmericafora
setamountoftime.Therewouldalsobethecomplicationofthelawabidingcitizenswantingto
rejectthisdatadumpingmethodinfearthatanythingtheycommunicatefromtheirdevicewould
bepermanentlypreservedandcouldbeusedagainstthem,theywouldclaimthatitisaninvasion
oftheirprivacy.Theyalsoarguethatinutilizingthismethodtheyaretrustingsomeoneelsewith
protectingtheiridentity,thisiswhereitbecomesimportantforencryptiontobeused.Eventhe
ObamaadministrationisbackingtheneedforencryptiontoprotectcitizensPersonalIdentifiable
Informationandtopreventidentitytheft.AccordingtoPresidentObamaThere'snoscenarioin
whichwedon'twantunyieldingencryption,,asencryptionplaysavitalroleinthesafetyofour
identityU.S.officialshaveyettosayhowtheywouldbeabletoaccessencrypteddevices
withoutcreatingnewsecurityflaws.
ThisdoesnotmeantosaythatIdenythefactthatgainingaccesstounlockeddevices
havebeenproventobeacrucialtoolinsolvingcrimesandinvestigationsinthepastoreven
allowingthelawenforcementagenciestoobtaininformationwhichtheydidnothavebefore.I
willalsoadmitthatitwouldbeextremelybeneficialfortheseorganizationstohavetheirown
backdoorintothedeviceshowever,indosoitwouldputthesecurityofallotherlawabiding
citizensatrisk,itwouldputalloftheirinformationwhichiscontainedandstoredonthese
devicesatrisk.Bypassingabillforcingmanufacturerstotakeoutandnotincludeencryptionon
theirdeviceswouldalsoplacethesecurityoftheuser'sidentityatrisk.Evenifthegovernment
becamesuccessfulinpassingabilltogetcompaniesmakeencryptionobsoleteitwouldonly

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encourageuserstojailbreak/roottheirdevicesandencryptthembyadditionalthirdparty
softwaremeans.Itisthusimportanttoallofustobeabletokeepourencryptioninorderto
protectourpersonalinformationpreventingidentitytheft.

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WorksCited
"AppleSaysiOSEncryptionProtectsPrivacyFBIRaisesCrimeFears."AllThings
Considered8Oct.2014.LiteratureResourceCenter.Web.7Apr.2016.
Barrett,Devlin,DannyYadron,andDaisukeWakabayashi."DigitalDivide:Apple,Others
EncryptPhones,FuelingGovernment..."WallStreetJournal.19Nov.2014:A.1.SIRS
IssuesResearcher.Web.07Apr.2016.
Gross,Grant."LawmakersCriticizeFBI'sRequestForEncryptionBackDoors."PCWorld
(08131384)(2015):1.MASComplete.Web.6Apr.2016.
Johnson,Kevin."FBIWon'tLikelyTellAppleHowItCrackedSanBernardinoIPhone."USA
Today.Gannett,27Apr.2016.Web.27Apr.2016.
Montagne,Renee,andRobertKnake."TheNextAppleFBIQuestion:WhoCanKnowHow
TheIPhoneWasHacked?"NPR.NPR,19Apr.2016.Web.20Apr.2016.
Nakashima,Ellen,andBartonGellman."EncryptionPosesDilemmaforU.S."Washington
Post.11Apr.2015:A.1.SIRSIssuesResearcher.Web.06Apr.2016.
Perez,Evan,PamelaBrown,andShlmonProkupecz."Sources:DatafromSanBernardino
PhoneHasHelpedinProbe."CNN.CableNewsNetwork,20Apr.2016.Web.20Apr.
2016.

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Welna,David,andKevonBankston."TheNextEncryptionBattleground:Congress."NPR.
NPR,14Apr.2016.Web.18Apr.2016.
Zetter,Kim."MagistrateOrdersAppletoHelpFBIHackSanBernardinoShootersPhone."
Wired.com.CondeNastDigital,16Feb.2016.Web.18Apr.2016.