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IPFS News Link • FBI

FBI admits to inflating number of crime-related devices it can't crack

• https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com, by Lisa Vaas

He made the same "this is letting the crooks go dark" argument over and over, including on 7 December, when he testified before the House Judiciary Committee. At that time, he said that selective encryption access is possible without jeopardizing everybody's device encryption. The need for it is beyond urgent, he said: it's vital to protect innocent citizens from criminals and terrorists who are using encrypted devices to "go dark."

Nah, the FBI has now admitted. On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that the FBI has admitted that the 7,800 number is a "grossly inflated" figment of FBI imagination, or what the FBI is saying is a miscount. It's more like 1,200… maybe 2,000… honestly, the bureau isn't really sure how many uncrackables it's dealing with.


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