With strong encryption, users of the Internet can communicate among each other with little concern that their messages will be read by anyone other than the intended recipients. It is certainly not lost on the members of this Subcommittee that U.S. policy on encryption has been both confusing and controversial. Some controversy over the matter is perhaps inevitable, as there are several legitimate, but conflicting interests at stake. Unfortunately, some participants in the controversy persist in either willful ignorance of, or deliberate refusal to acknowledge, the importance of encryption in the security of our electronic infrastructure. It is no small irony that the law enforcement interests who argue so ardently for limitations on encryption seem to fail to recognize the increased vulnerability to crime and terrorism that would result from those limitations.
Encryption is a complex technology.
The systems that employ it as a tool for security are equally complex, and are evolving rapidly. Regulatory constraints on the use of encryption, or forcing the use of certain design parameters will inevitably weaken the security of electronic networks. It may be that, as a nation, we are willing to sacrifice infrastructure security in exchange for some other value. Before we strike that bargain, however, it is important that we understand the price we are paying. In so doing, Congress should be slow to adopt regulatory measures and keenly aware of the law of unintended consequences.