The NSA’s Split-Key Encryption Proposal is Not Serious

Tags: 2010s Backdoors Backdoors-Feasibility Center for Democracy and Technology Foreign Concerns Going Dark

Authors: Joseph Lorenzo Hall

Published: April 2015

URL: https://cdt.org/insights/the-nsas-split-key-encryption-proposal-is-not-serious/

Abstract: The NSA’s Split-Key Encryption Proposal is Not Serious discusses the NSA’s 2020 proposal to require technology companies to create a “golden key,” a split-key that would allow the company or the NSA access to encrypted communications. Hall argues that split-key encryption is a technology infeasible, vulnerable, and costly, and would not be able to ensure any data was protected from the NSA. Therefore, Hall deems the “golden key” proposal unserious.