Are High-Technology Companies Obstructionist?
June 11, 2020
When one talks about high-technology companies, the conversation skips over outfits like Siemens, China Mobile, and Telefónica. The parties to the conversation understand that the code “high tech” refers to Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and similar outfits. Baidu and TenCent type outfits cooperate in some countries, just less so in other countries.
“ASIO Chief Hits Out at Obstructive Tech Companies” is an amplification of US Department of Justice calls for providing enforcement officials with backdoors when data are encrypted. Australia’s intelligence agency is called the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, shortened to ASIO. The article points out hat in December 2018 laws came into effect that added “encryption busting powers.”
The bulk of the article consists of statements made by Australia’s spy agency chief Mike Burgess. The selected comments make clear that some high-technology companies have been slow to cooperate. The write up reports:
“As a society, whether we know it or not, we’ve accepted the fact that the police or ASIO can get a warrant to bug someone’s car or someone’s house. Why should cyberspace be any different? “Yet every time we have these conversations with the private sector companies they kind of push back and say, ‘Uh, no, we’re not so sure about that’.”—Mr. Burgess.
The main point is that high-technology companies often adopt the apocryphal mañana approach when minutes count.
DarkCyber anticipates increased requests for encryption backdoors from other members of the Five Eyes. Some of those involved with this group are not amused with going slow.
Stephen E Arnold, June 11, 2020
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