Jeff Hudson, CEO at cybersecurity solution provider Venafi, commented below on reports that FBI overstated the number of encrypted devices. According to the Washington Post, the FBI has repeatedly provided grossly inflated statistics to Congress and the public about the extent of problems posed by encrypted cellphones, claiming investigators were locked out of nearly 7,800 devices connected to crimes last year when the correct number was much smaller, probably between 1,000 and 2,000.
Jeff Hudson, CEO at Venafi:
“In light of the FBI’s ongoing demands for government-mandated encryption backdoors this data really clarifies the scope of the problem. The reality is that governments mandates backdoors will allow cyber criminals to undermine all types of private, secure communications. With all of the rhetoric around this topic it’s easy to lose sight of the facts — any government that mandates backdoors is no different from the world’s most authoritarian governments. At this moment, citizens in the United States have basic rights to privacy. But, if our government mandates backdoors that protection goes away.”
