NEW YORK—The deadly attacks in Paris may soon reopen the debate over whether—and how—tech companies should let the government sidestep the data scrambling that shields everyday commerce and daily digital life alike.
So far, there’s no hard evidence that the Paris extremists relied on encrypted communications—essentially, encoded digital messages that can’t be read without the proper digital “keys”—to plan the shooting and bombing attacks that left 129 dead on Friday. But it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if they did.
So-called end-to-end encryption technology is now widely used in many standard message systems, including Apple’s iMessage and Facebook’s WhatsApp. Similar technology also shields the contents of smartphones running the latest versions of Apple and Google operating software. Strong encryption is used to protect everything from corporate secrets to the credit-card numbers of online shoppers to intimate photos and secrets shared by lovers.
That widespread use of encryption, which was previously restricted to more powerful desktop or server computers, is exactly what worries members of the intelligence and law enforcement communities. Some are now using the occasion of the Paris attacks to once again argue for restrictions on encryption, saying it hampers their ability to track and disrupt plots like this one.
