2017 Encryption Landscape

2017 Encryption Landscape

There is a growing belief that 2017 will be a decisive year in the battle over encryption that has been quietly raging for over 25 years.  This ongoing battle has pitted the federal government, who argues that some form of encryption backdoors are needed for national security purposes, against security professionals and privacy advocates, who argue that these types of backdoors are foolhardy at best and dangerous at worst.  The recent election of Donald Trump, the self-described “law-and-order” president, threatens to upend the shaky détente that currently exists between these two competing camps.  If early indications are true and Trump does in fact take a more strident approach towards issues of security and privacy, organizations and vendors alike will be facing a radically altered landscape in 2017.

For a preview of the type of changes that may be in store, one needs to look no further than to the UK, where a recently-passed bill, named the British Investigatory Powers Bill (aka “Snooper’s Charter”), is already causing widespread changes.  This new law allows the UK government to engage in online surveillance, to perform wholesale bulk collection of every citizen’s metadata, and to have the legal authority to hack into devices remotely.  Furthermore, the law enables the government to impose what is called a “technical capability notice” on a commercial entity, which would oblige them to change or modify their product to remove any form of electronic protection applied by the company to any communications or data.  In other words, the government is demanding that companies have the backdoor capability of removing the encryption that is being used to protect data.

The impact on commercial entities that deal with any sort of consumer or citizen data is becoming clear: they will be required to collect, store, maintain, and disclose this information when presented with a warrant.  While this will present data storage challenges to an organization, the greater fear is the worry about hacking.  For all the talk about safeguarding data, it’s now clear that it is virtually impossible to stop a determined hacker from compromising data.  In the last year alone, major commercial entities, such as Yahoo, Verizon and LinkedIn, have all been hacked.  In other words, it’s not a question of if a company will be hacked; it’s simply a question of when.  While companies will continue to try to find ways to prevent these hacks, 2017 will be the year of an increased focus on mitigating the impact of inevitable breaches.

On the flip side, security vendors, especially those that deal with encryption technology, will be faced with a dilemma.  Encryption is built on a foundation of math. If a backdoor weakness were purposely built in due to some type of mandate, then the mathematical underpinning of encryption will have an inherent vulnerability that will be identified and exploited by sophisticated hackers.  Furthermore, even if vendors were to put in a backdoor, it would have no real effect at stopping criminals due to the widespread availability of other tools and encryption services that go beyond the reach of federal authorities.  Thus, compliance with any sort of federal mandate will likely result in a significant commercial impact to the vendor’s business as clients migrate to other solutions or services.

To avoid the economic impact caused by the insertion of a backdoor, vendors will likely migrate toward an alternate deployment model that relies on “safe harbor” provisions.  Like the safe harbor provisions used within the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), vendors will claim protection from monetary or legal liability based on the allegedly infringing activities of third parties.  For data being sent across the Internet, this can be achieved by implementing a more advanced encryption model that takes advantage of one-time use keys to protect the data being sent to and from different parties.  For statically stored data, this can be done by moving to a model where the keys used to unlock this stored data are uniquely tied to an individual using biometrics or other similar techniques.  In both models, because the keys are self-deleting and/or uniquely linked to the user, neither the vendor nor the organization can unlock this data themselves and thus cannot be subject to a court order.  Importantly, these approaches also provide an immediate security benefit by providing another protective layer against hackers who attempt to steal data.

The debate that started 25 years ago when the U.S. government attempted to regulate encryption in the early days of the Internet seems destined to explode into the limelight in 2017.  The national conversation that results will dramatically shape the encryption landscape for years to come.   

Featured

  • Allegion, Comfort Technologies Implement Mobile Credentials at the Artisan Apartment Homes in Florida

    Artisan Apartment Homes, a luxury apartment complex in Dunedin, Florida, recently transitioned from mechanical keys to electronic locks and centralized system software with support from Allegion US, a leading provider of security solutions, technology and services, and Florida-based Comfort Technologies, which specializes in deploying multifamily access control, IoT devices and software management solutions. Read Now

  • Mall of America Deploys AI-Powered Analytics to Enhance Parking Intelligence

    Mall of America®, the largest shopping and entertainment complex in North America, announced an expansion of its ongoing partnership with Axis Communications to deploy cutting-edge car-counting video analytics across more than a dozen locations. With this expansion, Mall of America (MOA) has boosted operational efficiency, improved safety and security, and enabled more informed decision-making around employee scheduling and streamlining transportation for large events. Read Now

  • Security Industry Association Launches New “askSIA” AI Tool

    The Security Industry Association (SIA) has unveiled a brand-new SIA member benefit – askSIA, a conversational AI agent designed to help users get the most out of their SIA membership, easily access SIA resources and find the latest information on SIA’s training and courses, reports and publications, events, certification offerings and more. SIA members can easily find askSIA by visiting the SIA homepage or looking for the askSIA icon in the top left of webpages. Read Now

    • Industry Events
  • Industry Embraces Mobile Access, Biometrics and AI

    A combination of evolving workplace dynamics, technology innovation and new user expectations is changing how people enter and interact with physical spaces. Access control is at the heart of these changes. Combined with biometrics and AI, mobile access control has become increasingly crucial for deploying entry solutions that are seamless, secure and adaptive to user needs. Read Now

  • Sustainable Video Solution Delivered for Landmark City of London Office Development

    An advanced, end-to-end video solution from IDIS, with a focus on reducing waste and costs, has helped a major office development in the City of London align its security with sustainability objectives. Read Now

New Products

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.