OSLO: Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a warning in The Telegraph today about what happens when governments force technology companies to weaken encryption across their products and platforms.
End-to-end encryption, the term given when only the sender and recipient of messages can decipher them, makes it harder for intelligence agencies to spy on digital communications. In theory, this unbreakable encryption method could be used by terrorists to plot attacks on the UK under the radar of the nation’s intelligence services.
Prime Minister David Cameron has stated that technology companies should hand over customer communications in certain situations to assist UK intelligence agencies with criminal matters but Cook claims this would reduce security and expose people to cyber attacks.
In an interview with The Telegraph’s Allister Heath, Cook said he was “optimistic” that Home Secretary Theresa May will make the right decision on encryption.
When the public gets engaged, the press gets engaged deeply, it will become clear to people what needs to occur,” Cook said. “You can’t weaken cryptography. You need to strengthen it. You need to stay ahead of the folks that want to break it.”
