Category Archives: Encryption
Encryption Key Management Market Key Trends and how do they Impact the Specific Regions – NeighborWebSJ
Overview Of Encryption Key Management Industry 2021-2028:
This has brought along several changes in This report also covers the impact of COVID-19 on the global market.
The Encryption Key Management Market Report a detailed study of different aspects of the Global Market. It shows the steady growth in market in spite of the fluctuations and changing market trends. The report is based on certain important parameters.
The Top key vendors in Encryption Key Management Market include are:- Thales E-Security, Gemalto, Amazon, Ciphercloud, Box, Google, Dropbox, IBM, Egnyte, Alibaba Cloud Computing, Tencent Cloud, HUAWEI, Unbound Tech, Keynexus,
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This research report categorizes the global Encryption Key Management market by top players/brands, region, type and end user. This report also studies the global Encryption Key Management market status, competition landscape, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, sales channels and distributors.
Major Product Types covered are:
Folders/FilesSaaS AppCustomer Apps
Major Applications of Encryption Key Management covered are:
EnterprisePersonal
Region wise performance of the Encryption Key Management industry
This report studies the global Encryption Key Management market status and forecast, categorizes the global Cable Conduits market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia India and Other regions (Middle East & Africa, Central & South America).
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The study objectives of this report are:
Scope of the Report:-
The report scope combines a detailed research of Global Encryption Key Management Market 2021 with the apprehension given in the advancement of the industry in certain regions.
The Top Companies Report is designed to contribute our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players. Besides, information on the performance of different companies, profit, gross margin, strategic initiative and more are presented through various resources such as tables, charts, and info graphic.
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Encryption Key Management Market Key Trends and how do they Impact the Specific Regions - NeighborWebSJ
Encrypting data is the key to a peaceful New Year (Includes interview) – Digital Journal
Technology and awareness need to combine to create a more secure business setting in 2021. To gain an insight into the shifting world of cybersecurity, Digital Journal touched base with from Nir Gaist, Founder and CEO, Nyotron. The key points Gaist made were:COVID-19 is here to stay, virtuallyGaist says we need to adapt to living with the virtual world, forced upon us by the SARS virus: "The pandemic is not going away, at least not from the attacker's standpoint. Mass fear and uncertainty have always served as ultimate 'opportunities' for scams and other, brand new creative attack vectors. While we are all on the lookout for long-awaited vaccines, we should also beware of vaccines related scams and messages, as these will surely become a major vector for fake news, misinformation and malware delivery."More infrastructural vulnerabilitiesCybersecurity will increase in 2021, says Gaist, and this not least due to inherent flaws in infrastructure: "As many organizations are adapting to the new WFH normal, some are even embracing it and have already announced it as their forever normal. While remote employees have always been there, most organizations' security theater is not really there yet. This reality draws more attacker's attention to the infrastructure, and, as the old saying goes - the more popular the product, the more vulnerabilities will be found in it."More data goes encrypted, and voilaThe solution to better cybersecurity, says Gaist, lies with encryption and this is the best protection against ransomware. Here he notes: "Yes, ransomware. But not that old pay-to-decrypt modus-operandi that we all know. With a rapidly-growing budget most VC-backed startups are dreaming of, these ransomware groups are becoming really slick, well organized and pretty darn effective. New pressure techniques and incentives of payment are evolving with recent attacks, where encryption of data is sometimes left out in favor of exfiltration. We should certainly prepare for bolder, more sophisticated techniques."
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Encrypting data is the key to a peaceful New Year (Includes interview) - Digital Journal
The ACLU Is Suing For Info On The FBI’s Encryption Breaking Capabilities – Gizmodo
Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Contributor (Getty Images)
The American Civil Liberties Union announced on Tuesday that it plans to sue for information related to the FBIs shadowy and relatively new ability to break into encrypted devices at will.
The lawsuit will reportedly seek to target information related to the FBIs Electronic Device Analysis Unit (EDAU) and its apparent acquisition of software that would allow the government to unlock and decrypt information that is otherwise securely stored on cell phones.
For years now, the U.S. government has waged a pressure campaign against companies like Apple, beseeching them to build highly unstableencryption backdoors that would allow law enforcement to access private devices like cell phones and personal computers if they are being entered as evidence. Its the kind of thing that raises the hackles of privacy advocates and human rights advocates alike: In 2016, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, notably said that compelling electronics manufacturers to build the backdoors would have extremely damaging implications forhuman rights and would risk unlocking a Pandoras box of government overreach.
But even in the face of all the blowback, many experts have warned for years that the FBI has gone ahead and quietly developed the capability on its own. Indeed, in a blog post announcing the lawsuit, the ACLU cited public court records that describe instances where the EDAU appeared capable of accessing encrypted information off of a locked iPhone... [and] even sought to hire an electronics engineer whose major responsibilities would include perform[ing] forensic extractions and advanced data recovery on locked and damaged devices.
In response to its concerns about the FBIs potential overreach, the ACLU filed several Freedom of Information Act requests for any Department of Justice and FBI records related to the EDAU and its technological capabilities for retrieving information from locked electronic devices. In response, the FBI issued whats referred to as a Glomar response a refusal to even confirm or deny that any such records of the EDAU ever existed in the first place.
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The problem, however, is that the FBIs refusal to acknowledge whether the records exist or not is particularly implausible in light of how much information on the agencys attempts to access encrypted devices is already publicly available. The ACLU has now appealed to a federal court in an attempt to compel the DOJ and FBI to turn over all relevant documents on the EDAU and its technological capabilities. In the blog post, the ACLU wrote that the FBIs chilling refusal to provide information isnt justshutting the door on the investigation theyve shut the door, closed the windows, drawn the shades, and refused to acknowledge whether the house that were looking at even exists.
By invoking the Glomar response, the federal government is sending a clear message: It aims to keep the American public in the dark about its ability to gain access to information stored on our personal mobile devices, the ACLU wrote. Its imperative that the public gets meaningful access to these records regarding the federal governments capabilities to access our phones and computers. Our privacy and security is at stake.
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The ACLU Is Suing For Info On The FBI's Encryption Breaking Capabilities - Gizmodo
Proton’s Calendar Platform With End-to-End Encryption Now Available as an Android App – News18
Proton Calendar app for Android
Swiss technology company Proton Technologies is well-known for its end-to-end encrypted email service, the ProtonMail that is available across Android and iOS device. The company has now rolled out its calendar service, the Proton Calendar app in beta form on Google Play Store which also promises the same encryption tech. End-to-end encryption ensures that user data are fully encrypted on the device (or the end user's device) and can't be accessed by third-party servers, therefore promising more privacy online. Until now, the Proton Calendar was only available as a web platform, and the company says (via Android Police) that the iOS version the platform will launch next year.
As per its Google Play Store listing, the Proton Calendar app is currently available to ProtonMail and ProtonVPN users with a paid account. "However, because of our unique social mission, Proton Calendar will also be available for free at a later date," the company adds. The Google listing also highlights that users with the app can manage up to ten calendars, create or delete events, add emojis to an event, add multiple notifications, and use it with both dark mode and light modes. As expected, user data will be synced automatically between the app and web client.
As mentioned, the app promises end-to-end encryption that lets the user share information such as the event title, description, location, and participants list in an encrypted-format with other users. The Swiss company says that more features such as the ability to add participants to an event, respond to invitations, and import events would come to the platform later. Since it is available in beta version, most features are as same as the web platform. Although the Proton Calendar app is available to download for free, it is limited to paid members of ProtonMail and ProtonVPN.
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Proton's Calendar Platform With End-to-End Encryption Now Available as an Android App - News18
Encryption Software Market 2020: COVID19 Impact on Industry Growth, Trends, Top Manufacturer, Regional Analysis and Forecast to 2027 – The Monitor
New Jersey, United States,- The in-depth research report on Encryption Software Market added to its huge repository by Verified Market Research provides brilliant and comprehensive market research. The report offers an in-depth study of key market dynamics including growth drivers, restraints, and opportunities. It mainly focuses on current and historical market scenarios. It includes market competition, segmentation, geographic expansion, regional growth, market size, and other factors. The Encryption Software research study is sure to benefit investors, market players and other market players. You will gain an in-depth understanding of the global market and industry.
This report focuses on Encryption Software market trends, future forecast, growth opportunities, key end-user industries and market players. The aim of the study is to present the most important developments of the market in the world.
Global Cellular M2M Market was valued at USD 9.01 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 60.13 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 28.89% from 2020 to 2027.
The following Manufacturers are covered in this report:
Encryption Software Market Report Contains:
Market Scenario Growth, Constraints, Trends, and opportunities Segments by value and volume Status of supply and demand Competitive analysis Technological innovations Analysis of the value chain and investments
This is an up-to-date report covering the current impact of COVID-19 on the market. The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has affected all aspects of life around the world. This resulted in several changes in market conditions. The rapidly changing market scenario along with the initial and future assessment of the impact is covered in the report. The report discusses all major aspects of the market with expert opinions on the current state of the market as well as historical data. This market report is a detailed study of growth, investment opportunities, market statistics, growing competitive analysis, key players, industry facts, key figures, sales, prices, revenue, gross margins, market share, business strategies, major regions, demand and developments.
The report further studies the segmentation of the market based on product types offered in the market and their end-use/applications.
Cellular M2M Market, By Service
Overview
Professional Services
Managed Services
Cellular M2M Market, By Application
Overview
Theft Recovery
Video Surveillance
POS
Asset Tracking
Fleet management
Others
Cellular M2M Market, By User Type
Overview
Large enterprises
Small and Medium Enterprises
Cellular M2M Market, By Vertical
Overview
Transportation and Logistics
Retail
Consumer Electronics
Security and Public Safety
Healthcare
Others
Furthermore, the market research industry provides a detailed analysis of the Encryption Software market for the estimated forecast period. The market research provides in-depth insights into the various market segments based on end-use, types, and geography. One of the most important characteristics of a report is the geographic segmentation of the market which includes all the key regions. This section mainly focuses on various developments in the region including the main development and how these developments will affect the market. Regional analysis provides in-depth knowledge of business opportunities, market status and forecast, possibility of generating sales, regional market by different end-users along with future types and forecast for the coming years.
Geographic Segmentation
The report offers an exhaustive assessment of different region-wise and country-wise Encryption Software markets such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, etc. Key regions covered in the report are North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.
The report includes:
Market overview Complete market analysis Analysis of the latest market developments Events of the market scenario in recent years Emerging and regional markets Segmentations up to the second and/or third level Historical, current and estimated market size in terms of value and volume Competitive analysis with an overview of the company, products, sales, and strategies. impartial market assessment Strategic recommendations to increase the presence in the business market
The study analyzes numerous factors influencing supply and demand in the Encryption Software market and further assesses market dynamics that boost the market growth during the forecast period. Furthermore, the Encryption Software market report offers a comprehensive analysis of the SWOT and PEST tools for all major regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The report offers regional expansion of the industry with product analysis, market share, and brand specifications. Furthermore, the Encryption Software market research provides a comprehensive analysis of the political, economic, and technological factors which are driving the market growth in these economies.
Some Points from Table of Content
1. Study coverage2. Summary3. Encryption Software Market Size by Manufacturer4. Production by region5. Consumption by region6.Encryption Software Market Size by Type7. Encryption Software Market size according to application8. Manufacturer profiles9. Production forecasts10. Consumption forecasts11. Analysis of customers upstream, industrial chain and downstream12. Opportunities and challenges, threats and influencing factors13. Main results14. Appendix
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Encryption Software Market 2020: COVID19 Impact on Industry Growth, Trends, Top Manufacturer, Regional Analysis and Forecast to 2027 - The Monitor
The Same U.S. Government That Wants To Weaken Our Encryption Just Got Massively Hacked – Reason
The U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments, along with untold numbers of government and corporate computer networks, have been breached in what may be an espionage attempt by the Russian government. (The Russians are, of course, denying responsibility.)
The avenue was reportedly a malicious software update pushed through SolarWinds Inc., an Austin-based network management company that counts both the federal government and hundreds of major U.S. companies among its clients. Essentially, the hackers slipped some malicious code into a software update; if you were on the infected networks that installed the update, this gave the hackers backdoor access to your data.
The infiltration apparently began in the spring but was not announced until this past weekend. SolarWinds reports that as many as 18,000 customers may have downloaded the infected update.
The Wall Street Journal reports that this infiltration may be above and beyond the usual cyberespionage:
While those familiar with the hack couldn't precisely specify its scope or the resulting damage to the U.S. government, several described it as among the most potentially worrisome cyberattacks in years, because it may have allowed Russia to access sensitive information from government agencies, defense contractors and other industries. One person familiar with the matter said the campaign was a "10" on a scale of one to 10, in terms of its likely severity and national-security implications.
Last week FireEye, a California-based cybersecurity firm, also reported a sophisticated hack that compromised its tools, which it attributed to a foreign government.
It's worthwhile to consider these developments in the light of law enforcement's efforts to weaken encryption protections. When officials insist that individuals should not have access to strong encryption unless the government can bypass those protections and access our data, they don't acknowledge that police won't be the only ones exploiting those back doors. Others with malicious intent, be they criminals or foreign governments (or both), will figure out how to get through too. It has happened before to our own very own government, as another country, possibly China, figured out how to access a cybersecurity bypass that had been installed for the National Security Agency.
In this latest incident, the extent of which we still don't know, the hackers had to create their own back door. So even cybersecurity that hasn't been undermined by statute isn't going to be perfect protection. But weaker security certainly isn't the answer. These back doors are bad. Whenever any senator or FBI director or police chief demands the power to bypass encryption, he or she should be reminded of this potentially dangerous breach.
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The Same U.S. Government That Wants To Weaken Our Encryption Just Got Massively Hacked - Reason
How to Enable End-to-End Encryption in Google Messages – Lifehacker
Last month, Google announced End-to-End encryption (E2EE) would soon be available for RCS messages in its Google Messages app on Android. According to numerous reports, the feature is already rolling out to Google Messages beta testers, which means itll probably show up in the regular version of the app soon.
This is a pretty big deal. Adding E2EE to any form of communication adds an extra layer of security to a conversation, and all the messages and files within it. Encrypted messaging apps arent anything new; E2EE conversations are available in WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Apples Messages, Signal, Telegram, and plenty of other apps, but E2EE launching in Google Messages is an important upgrade.
Google Messages supports RCS messages, which are quickly replacing SMS as the standard text messaging protocol. RCS messaging is better than SMS in many ways, but it wasnt until Google developed a universal RCS protocol known as Chat that the technology finally saw widespread adoption. Unlike other RCS protocols, however, Chat lacked E2EE. That was a blow to privacy-minded users and advocates who hoped RCS would be a more secure replacement for SMS.
Worry, no more.
To try out E22EE right now, youll need to enroll in the Google Messages beta program on Android. Otherwise, hang tight, as the feature will roll out to everybody in an upcoming update for the stable version of the app.
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From there, youll need to turn on Chat features in Messages:
Encrypted conversations display a padlock icon next to the delivered tag under the most recently-sent message, and also on the Send button.
Note that Google Messages E2EE only kicks in when both members in a conversation are using the latest version of the app on devices and mobile networks that support RCS messaging (most do). All other conversationsincluding group chatswill be left unencrypted. Its theoretically possible that group-chat encryption could show up in a future Messages update, but Google hasnt indicated such a feature is on the way.
[Android Police]
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How to Enable End-to-End Encryption in Google Messages - Lifehacker
Ransomware gangs are getting faster at encrypting networks. That will make them harder to stop – ZDNet
The cyber-criminal groups behind some of the most notorious and damaging ransomware attacks are using the same tactics and techniques as nation-state-backed hacking operations and they're only going to get more sophisticated as they look for even bigger pay days.
Ransomware has continued to evolvein the past year, with some ransomware crews making off with millions of dollars following each successful attack.
One of the key reasons why ransomware has become such a common cyberattack is because it's the easiest way for malicious hackers to make money from a compromised network.
SEE:A winning strategy for cybersecurity(ZDNet special report) |Download the report as a PDF(TechRepublic)
Previously, cyber criminals might have focused on stealing information that could be used or sold on, but by encrypting the network, they can make a large sum of money from demanding a ransom in a shorter amount of time than it would take to make from exploiting stolen credentials or financial information.
And now the skills of ransomware gangs are catching up with the Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups associated with nation states.
"Ransomware attackers are essentially just a couple of years behind the tradecraft we've seen ATP crews adopt. This is still a growing problem, it's not going to go away," Mitchell Clarke, principal incident response consultant at security company FireEye Mandiant, told ZDNet.
Researchers at Mandiant presented analysis of how ransomware and the cyber-criminal gangs behind it has evolved and matured in recent times during a presentation at Black Hat Europe 2020, demonstrating how the cyber-criminal groups running these campaigns are increasingly conducting full-scale network intrusions similar to those seen in nation-state attacks.
Ransomware groups like DoppelPaymer and REvil have been highly prolific this year, encrypting networks and making millions. Part of the reason for the success of these campaigns is because they're highly targeted.
Cyber-criminal hackers uncover vulnerabilities on networks then spend months laying the groundwork to compromise the systems with ransomware before finally unleashing the attack and encrypting the network.
This is similar to how APT groups hide for months or even years without being detected, although their goal is surveillance or stealing sensitive data rather than making money with ransomware.
"If we look back to older cases of ransomware, it was largely opportunistic. Attackers would land on a corporate environment and advance into a small subset of a wide organisation. The transition from opportunistic crime into APT-like campaigns is just a realisation that it's more profitable to completely cover an organisation with ransomware," said Clarke.
"The attacker has taken their time to step through that APT process, to understand the victim environment and to move across it as quietly as possible and with as much privilege as they're able to get. Then when it's time to deploy ransomware, to cover a whole organisation."
But that isn't where the evolution of ransomware campaigns stops; there's the risk that as these groups gain more experience with successful attacks, the time between initial compromise and an attempted full encryption of the network will become much shorter meaning there's even less time to potentially detect suspicious activity before it's too late.
"We're seeing a gap from initial compromise to a ransom event being in the months it's in that period before a ransom that organisations can implement changes to be able to detect," explained Tom Hall, principal incident response consultant at FireEye Mandiant.
"But as they get more sophisticated, we're going to see that window dropping from months to weeks and weeks to days. If organisations don't grasp the problem of being able to catch them when they've got months, there's no hope when we're down to shorter time periods," he added.
SEE:Cybersecurity: Let's get tactical(ZDNet/TechRepublic special feature) |Download the free PDF version(TechRepublic)
However, one of the key reasons why cyber criminals continue to be successful with ransomware attacks is because they're able to exploit vulnerabilities that are simple to protect against but organisations have failed to do so.
Applying the security patches that fix security vulnerabilities shortly after they're released prevents cyber criminals being able to exploit issues that have been fixed, while applying two-factor authentication and preventing the use of default passwords on the network can also go a long way to protecting against ransomware and other attacks.
"It's not like these situations couldn't have been prevented. It really highlights that a solid patch-management programme would have solved having vulnerabilities exposed that kicked off the entire breach," said Clarke.
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Ransomware gangs are getting faster at encrypting networks. That will make them harder to stop - ZDNet
UK has not ordered ‘backdoor access’ to WhatsApp messages – but could issue injunction against Facebook’s encryption plans – Sky News
The UK has not ordered Facebook to provide law enforcement agencies with a way to access end-to-end encrypted messages on WhatsApp, Sky News has learnt, despite a legal power which could allow it to do so in secret.
However, the power may be used to prevent Facebook from applying the same encryption protocol to its other services, something the company plans to do despite concerns the move will blind it to child predators' grooming victims over its platform.
The notice would allow Facebook to use a potentially weaker form of encryption to protect users' messages, while also forcing the company to retain the ability to monitor those messages and be able to deliver decrypted conversations in response to a warrant - something it cannot do with WhatsApp.
According to sources with direct knowledge of discussions between the government and the company, the legal instrument - officially known as a Technical Capability Notice (TCN) - was not used to force Facebook to include what critics describe as a "backdoor" to access specific WhatsApp messages, because no technological mechanism exists to bypass the encryption protocol that WhatsApp uses.
As one former senior civil servant explained to Sky News, there are two key reasons why the government did not issue a TCN to Facebook regarding WhatsApp - despite repeated complaints about the service from successive home secretaries.
The first was that "there isn't a reasonable method yet" for the company to provide lawful authorities access to the content of targeted messages, simply as a matter of how the technology functions.
A key legal test in the legislation requires it must be "reasonably practicable" for the communications provider to comply with a TCN in order for one to be issued.
However, the encryption protocol that Facebook uses - the Signal protocol, which is becoming an industry standard - has been robustly designed and repeatedly audited by cryptographers to ensure it prevents third parties from accessing the message content.
The second reason, the former civil servant added, was political: "We aren't sure TCNs will work on American companies, and politicians tend not to want to try and find out."
While the technological challenge posed by messages encrypted using the Signal protocol is currently insurmountable, the fear about US-based companies dismissing complaints from foreign jurisdictions appears to be shrinking.
According to sources with knowledge of diplomatic meetings between political envoys from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, concerns about Facebook's plans are gaining the crucial support of the American government.
Through its own monitoring, Facebook submits thousands of reports to US authorities every year about predators using its platforms to attempt to groom children online, and millions of reports about images and videos featuring child abuse.
These child protection authorities estimate that 70% of Facebook's reports will be lost if the company allows predators and their potential victims to communicate using an end-to-end encrypted service that the company itself can no longer monitor.
Facebook has not disputed this figure, although it argues that it can use the same tools that it uses with WhatsApp - looking for indications of child abuse in the metadata of messages - to detect and tackle predators.
In response to England's children's commissioner, who on Tuesday expressed her concern the company's encryption plans would put children at risk, a spokesperson for the company said: "Child exploitation and grooming have no place on our platforms.
"Facebook has led the industry in developing new ways to prevent, detect, and respond to abuse and we will continue to work with law enforcement to combat criminal activity.
"End-to-end encryption is already the leading technology used by many services to keep people safe and, when we roll it out on our other messaging services, we will build on our strong anti-abuse capabilities at WhatsApp.
"For example, through a combination of advanced technology and user reports, WhatsApp bans around 250,000 accounts each month suspected of sharing child exploitative imagery."
Security sources who spoke to Sky News said there is an important difference between Facebook banning users based on abuse content contained in profile pictures and group names - or on other metadata signals the company could develop - and law enforcement agencies being able to safeguard children and bring prosecutions against offenders with evidence in court.
They added there was also a very significant difference between WhatsApp and Facebook's other services. People talking on WhatsApp have almost always been introduced through some other way. The chance of a child predator randomly typing in a phone number and finding a vulnerable child who will respond to them is extremely low.
However, Facebook as a platform is designed to help users find other people who have similar characteristics to them. If a Facebook user acts like a vulnerable child, then the platform will introduce them to vulnerable children - something child predators are known to take advantage of.
According to Home Office policy advisers, if the UK's new Online Harms bill doesn't introduce an obligation for Facebook to retain its own ability to monitor for child abuse - potentially by making its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, personally liable in incidents where the lack of this ability interrupts an investigation - then a TCN could be used to effectively issue an injunction against the company rolling out end-to-end encryption across its social networking services.
There is a concern that such a TCN may not successfully impact the company's decision to implement the encryption if it was made in isolation by the British government, but it could be successful if similar actions were taken by multiple countries working in concert.
To this end, the British government has engaged in a diplomatic strategy of signing multiple joint statements challenging Facebook's plans and conducting envoys to the US.
Sky News has spoken to multiple people with knowledge of these envoys to the US, where British officials have addressed technology companies - including Facebook - and American politicians about the issues of encrypted communications and terrorist content on social media.
Those on the British government side complained to Sky News that - over the course of several years - they have seen "no meaningful progress" on the encryption issue, even as the companies adopted novel technologies to tackle the spread of terrorist propaganda and child abuse material on their platforms.
"End-to-end encryption was always the elephant in the room" at talks on countering this material, one participant told Sky News, while another described the companies as "difficult and intransigent" from the UK government's perspective.
Civil society organisations and technology industry representatives expressed similar disappointment in the value of these meetings, saying that governments were refusing to acknowledge that the technological challenges posed by extremist content were very different to the challenges posed by end-to-end encryption - and alleging an ulterior purpose for the complaints in the government desire to collect public communications.
Chloe Squires, director of national security at the Home Office, provided written testimony to the US Senate last December "to make clear why this is such an important issue for the UK government", in a statement which repeatedly referenced Facebook moving its social networking services to use end-to-end encryption.
In her letter, Ms Squires explained how TCNs worked: "Technical capability notices can't be used to require companies to provide unfettered access to the communications of their users. However, they can provide a legal basis to ask a company to establish a lawful access mechanism to encrypted communications."
She added: "The technical difference we are talking about is whether the provider of a service retains a technical capability to access the content of communications that are already encrypted over that service. It is not the difference between messages being end-to-end encrypted or not encrypted at all."
Preceding Ms Squires' testimony, an open letter addressed directly to Mr Zuckerberg, and signed by British, American, and Australian officials, stated: "Companies should not deliberately design their systems to preclude any form of access to content, even for preventing or investigating the most serious crimes.
"We therefore call on Facebook and other companies to [...] not to implement the proposed changes until you can ensure that the systems you would apply to maintain the safety of your users are fully tested and operational."
Broader international agreement on the issue was stated in a Council of the European Union conclusion on combating child sexual abuse, which urged technology companies "to ensure lawful access for law enforcement [...] to digital evidence, including when encrypted".
The most recent joint statement regarding Facebook's plans was published this October, signed by all of the members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, as well as a coalition including India and Japan.
In the eyes of the British government, each of these statements has moved the debate on in terms of the language used to explain the risks posed by Facebook's plans, and to express the coalition's desire that those plans be halted, as well as through the number of international signatories who could potentially issue similar orders to Facebook within their own jurisdictions.
As a Home Office spokesperson told Sky News: "We remain deeply concerned that Facebook's end-to-end encryption plans will remove their ability to proactively detect and report child sexual exploitation and abuse."
"We are not alone in these concerns. International governments, child protection organisations and, most recently, the Children's Commissioner have all called on Facebook not to press ahead, putting millions of children's safety at risk," they added.
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UK has not ordered 'backdoor access' to WhatsApp messages - but could issue injunction against Facebook's encryption plans - Sky News
From the bottom of the sea rose a piece of encrypted history. What were the Nazi Enigmas? – The Indian Express
Written by Vandana Kalra, Edited by Explained Desk | New Delhi | Updated: December 13, 2020 8:43:34 amDiver and underwater archaeologist Florian Huber touches a rare Enigma cipher machine used by the Nazi military during World War Two, in Gelting Bay near Flensburg, Germany. (Reuters)
Divers scouring the depths of the Baltic Sea, the arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Scandinavian peninsula and the countries of mainland northern and central Europe, have discovered an Enigma encryption machine that was used by Nazi Germany to encode secret messages during World War II.
The divers made the discovery while searching the seabed using a sonar device for abandoned fishing nets that can be harmful for sea life.
Rusty and covered with barnacle, the machine is now in the restoration workshop of the Museum of Archaeology in Gottorf Castle in Schleswig, Germany. What is this cipher machine, and what role did it play in the War? What is its value now?
Significance of Enigma
The Enigma machine was invented by the German engineer Arthur Scherbius towards the end of World War I. While several different Enigma models were produced, the German military models that had a plugboard are believed to have been the most complex.
During World War II, the military of Nazi Germany used the encryption machine to transmit messages in code. The machine allowed for billions of ways to encode a message, and the Allied militaries and intelligence services found it extremely challenging to break the code of intercepted messages.
How did the machines work?
The plugboard was similar to a telephone switchboard, with wires with two ends that could be plugged into a slot. Each letter from the plaintext would be substituted for another at regular intervals to create a ciphertext, which was decrypted by the receiver who was aware of the pairings.
Every time a letter was pressed, the movable parts of the machine would change position, so that the next time the same letter was pressed, it would be enciphered as something different.
Different parts of the machine could be set up in different ways to allow for different combinations and enciphered letters. With a plugboard, some of the army versions swapped letters twice over. Follow Express Explained on Telegram
Unless the exact settings of the machine were known, it was near impossible to decipher the messages.
How was the Enigma cipher ultimately cracked?
By 1932, Polish cryptanalysts were able to decode German ciphers that had been written with an earlier version of Enigma. The Poles shared the information with the French and British intelligence services before World War II. The Germans were subsequently able to produce more sophisticated machines, which made it difficult to crack the code.
The Poles also built electro-mechanical machines to search for solutions by simulating the workings of an Enigma machine. These calculated the numerous possibilities through different settings.
The findings of the Polish mathematicians helped the English mathematician Alan Turing to develop his bombe machine that made the use of cribs, using assumed or known parts of the message as a starting point, to break Enigma-encrypted machines.
What value does an Enigma machine have today?
Towards the end of World War II, as defeat seemed imminent, the Nazis began to destroy their Enigma machines to prevent them from falling into the hands of the victorious Allied powers. Once the war ended, then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered that the surviving Enigmas should also be destroyed.
Not more than a couple of hundred Enigmas exist today. Their value is historical, and they are cherished by collectors.
In December 2019 auction house Sothebys sold an Enigma M4 for a record price of $800,000. Another was sold this year by Christies for $440,000.
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Original post:
From the bottom of the sea rose a piece of encrypted history. What were the Nazi Enigmas? - The Indian Express