A lot of people seem to take for granted the fact that they relay and store data in a relatively safe manner. Take email for example, when an email is sent from one person to the next the sender can respectfully assume that the message will only be read by the person on the other end of the message. One thing people do not realize however is how encryption allows for the message to be safely sent to its destination without others being able to intercept and see that message.
Within the recent months encryption has come under scrutiny by lawmakers and the public. In a recent court case with Apple vs. the FBI, the FBI argued that Apple needs to supply them with a back door so investors are able to access IPhones that are locked via a pass code. Luckily Apple fought the demand and did not have to give in and allow such a direct violation of privacy take place.
Regardless of how your feel with the government having such a power, allowing a back door to exist would be absolutely devastating if it were to have passed. Providing the government with a back door is often times explained as giving them a master key to these devices. However, it is the exact opposite. Imagine if a safe company were to create a master key that were to access all of the safes that they produce. In theory it would make a lock smiths job much easier but there exists a problem, keys are able to be replicated. What if a thief were to get a hold of a copy of the master key?
Technology companies strive to make their products secure and security breaches can be an absolute nightmare for their reputation. Though it really seems that lawmakers continue to butt heads with tech companies as they seem to think they know what is best. In my humble opinion, more people need to understand just how encryption works and why it is so essential. It simply is something that cannot be banned. Banning encryption would quite literally be the equivalent to banning extremely long prime numbers.
How do you feel about encryption? Please share in the comments section.