FBI Director Warns Against New Modes of Cell Phone Encryption

FBI Director James Comey Thursday was critical of the  encryption features built into latest cell phones of Apple and Google, warning that law enforcement officials will face difficulty in solving homicide and child exploitation cases.

Comey's comments come in the wake of announcements by Apple and Google that their new software would automatically encrypt the contents of cell phones, using codes that even the companies could not crack. Though law enforcement officials can still intercept conversations, they might not be able to access call data, contacts, photos and email stored on the phone.

Comparing encrypted data to a safe that cannot be cracked or a closet door that would not open, Comey said that the decision by tech companies to protect user communications will hinder a broad range of criminal investigations.

"We have the legal authority to intercept and access communications from information pursuant to court order, but we often lack the technical ability to do so," Comey said in a Brookings Institution speech, reports the Associated Press.

Citing some cases in which access to cell phone data helped in the criminal investigations, Comey said that new legislations must be introduced so that law enforcement officials can intercept communications.

However, Comey could not pinpoint a particular case in which someone was rescued from danger by law enforcement officers because they could get information from the cell phone.

 "Rescuing someone before they're harmed? Someone in the trunk of a car or something?" Comey asked. "I don't think I know yet."

But, he added, "Logic tells me there are going to be cases just like that."

Meanwhile, privacy advocates and technology experts say that the government was trying to weaken privacy protections.

Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that weakening the security of systems to allow easy access to enforcement officials has a major disadvantage. The weakened systems can be accessed by foreign governments and hackers, he said, adding that major data violations occur frequently, reports The Wall Street Journal.