FBI Director Christopher Wray

FBI Director Christopher Wray at FBI HQ, June 2018 (Photo by Mark WIlson/Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO—FBI Director Christopher Wray today echoed a call that law enforcement has been making for years: officials need a way to bypass encryption to preserve national security.

RSA bug artThe issue came up when Wray was asked on stage here at the RSA conference about the 2016 Apple and the FBI conflict. At the time, the FBI wanted Apple to unlock an iPhone used by a suspect in the San Bernardino shooting. Apple along with security experts and several competitors, pushed back, arguing that efforts to circumvent or weaken encryption hurts security and civil liberties.

The FBI ultimately used an outside contractor to access the iPhone in question, but the issue is still very real for Wray. "What I know is not a week goes by where I don't encounter across all our programs some significant, insurmountable impediment [...] with encrypted devices and encrypted messaging platforms," he said.

"Just as technology has become a force multiplier for the good guys, it has become a force multiplier for the bad guys," said Wray.

The argument made by law enforcement against the widespread use of encryption is sometimes called "going dark." The concern is that more and more communications are not accessible to law enforcement, even with legal orders. This has led law enforcement to seek ways to access encrypted information.

Privacy advocates and security experts, however, argue that augmenting encrypted systems to make them more accessible to law enforcement won't work. Any so-called "backdoor" that would allow law enforcement access to encrypted data could be misused by someone else, including law enforcement. It's a view that some have put into practice. When an FBI agent approached the founder of the Wickr secure messaging platform and asked for a backdoor, she rebuffed him.

"I get a little frustrated when people say that we're trying to weaken encryption," Wray said. He insisted that the agency is not trying to get backdoors and that he and the FBI believe in strong encryption, "but we're also duty bound to protect the American people."

The situation, as Wray sees it, is unsustainable. In his words, encrypted data and devices gives criminals and terrorists a space that simply cannot be reached by law enforcement. He did express an understanding of the argument against his position, saying that privacy advocates are not trying to weaken national security.

Like many other members of government and law enforcement, Wray says he's seeking a compromise. But like his predecessors, he didn't have a concrete option at the ready. "I would love to see people try to come together and work toward solutions," he said. "I'm hearing that there are solutions to be had."