Schneier on Security

If the US government tries to strong-arm American companies into ending the sale of products or applications with unbreakable encryption, the technology won’t disappear, a group of researchers conclude in a new report. It would still be widely available elsewhere.

Some US law enforcement officials argue that unbreakable encryption is interfering with legal surveillance of suspected criminals and terrorists. And some members of Congress are pushing for a nationwide requirement that encryption allow for law-enforcement access.

But the three researchers—Bruce Schneier, a cryptologist and fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Kathleen Seidel, an independent researcher, and Saranya Vijayakumar of Harvard—compiled a list of at least 865 hardware and software encryption products available in 55 different countries. More than 500 of them come from outside of the United States…