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Here we go again. Senate Republicans push a new bill to mandate “lawful access” to encrypted devices and data. It won’t end until law enforcement has better cyber forensics capabilities./lead

In what seems like Groundhog Day when it comes to encrypted communications, a group of Republican senators last week introduced the Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act, which aims to end the use of so-called “warrant-proof” encrypted technology by terrorists and criminals. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced this latest measure to find a way for law enforcement to gain access to devices and data that are protected by unbreakable encryption methods.

“The Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act is a balanced solution that keeps in mind the constitutional rights afforded to all Americans while providing law enforcement the tools needed to protect the public from everyday violent crime and threats to our national security,” the Senators said in a statement.

Although the bill’s proponents don’t say so explicitly, the “lawful access” it seeks to establish mirrors a long string of potentially damaging efforts by the federal government to install backdoors into encrypted communications, according to critics. Virtually all cybersecurity and cryptography experts insist that any break in the encryption chain will break security and protection altogether, leaving criminals and adversarial nation-states with even more power to hack into users’ devices and communications for nefarious purposes.

This article appeared in CSO Online. To read the rest of the article please visit here.