Encryption, Biometrics, and the Status Quo Ante

Tags: 2010s Backdoors Biometric Encryption Law Enforcement Think Tank

Authors: Rosenzweig, Paul

Published: July 2015

URL: https://www.lawfareblog.com/encryption-biometrics-and-status-quo-ante

Abstract: On July 6, 2015, Paul Rosenzweig, founder of Red Branch Consulting PLLC, wrote about a paradigm shift in the encryption debate, and offered a solution to deal with the paradigm shift. In 1995, data “could not be maintained in an undecryptable format”, access to data was “achieved through lawful process (either a search warrant or a subpoena)”, and the subject of an investigation received notice. Since the paradigm shift, “data is undecryptable”, due to Fifth Amendment constraints “access through lawful process if often not possible”, and the subject of an investigation “does not get notice”. The author proposed that implementing mandatory biometric encryption is the key to dealing with the paradigm shift. The author described mandatory biometric encryption as allowing “strong encryption for data at rest, just as encryption advocates want, but require manufacturers to activate the encryption using a biometric key (such as a fingerprint or iris) rather than a pass phrase”. The author discussed the advantages of using mandatory biometric encryption and states that the proposal will “return us to the status quo ante”.