Don’t Panic: Making Progress on the “Going Dark” Debate

Tags: 2010s Going Dark

Published: February 2016

URL: https://cyber.harvard.edu/pubrelease/dont-panic/Dont_Panic_Making_Progress_on_Going_Dark_Debate.pdf

Abstract: In September of 2016, the Federal Partnership for Interoperable Communications (FPIC), produced a report on the key reasons, implications, and considerations associated with the encryption of critical portions of public safety communication systems, Considerations for Encryption in Public Safety Radio Systems. As a supplement to that report, the FPIC published this two-page fact sheet, which provides a summary of the report and the policy justifications for its recommendations. The fact sheet explains the report’s focus on five primary considerations: (1) what information should be protected (encrypted); (2) what method of encryption should be implemented; (3) the impact on communications interoperability; (4) the added cost vs. the impact of compromise; and (5) the effect on public information access.