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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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EXPLORING ENCRYPTION
AND POTENTIAL MECHANISMS
FOR AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT
ACCESS TO PLAINTEXT

Proceedings of a Workshop

Anne Johnson, Emily Grumbling, and Jon Eisenberg, Rapporteurs

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

images

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

This activity was supported by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, under Contract No. 2014-14041100003-010. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-44740-9
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-44740-2
Digital Object Identifier: 10.17226/23593

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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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image

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.

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Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.national-academies.org.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Reports document the evidence-based consensus of an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and committee deliberations. Reports are peer reviewed and are approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Proceedings chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other convening event. The statements and opinions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and have not been endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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OTHER RECENT REPORTS OF THE COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD

Continuing Innovation in Information Technology: Workshop Report (2016)

Future Directions for NSF Advanced Computing Infrastructure to Support U.S. Science and Engineering in 2017-2020. (2016)

Privacy Research and Best Practices: Summary of a Workshop for the Intelligence Community (2016)

Bulk Collection of Signals Intelligence: Technical Options (2015)

Interim Report on 21st Century Cyber-Physical Systems Education (2015)

A Review of the Next Generation Air Transportation System: Implications and Importance of System Architecture (2015)

Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Communications Technology Laboratory of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation’s Telecommunications Needs (2015)

Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation’s Telecommunications Needs (2015)

At the Nexus of Cybersecurity and Public Policy: Some Basic Concepts and Issues (2014)

Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security: A Framework for Addressing Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues (2014)

Future Directions for NSF Advanced Computing Infrastructure to Support U.S. Science and Engineering in 2017-2020: An Interim Report (2014)

Interim Report of a Review of the Next Generation Air Transportation System Enterprise Architecture, Software, Safety, and Human Factors (2014)

Geotargeted Alerts and Warnings: Report of a Workshop on Current Knowledge and Research Gaps (2013)

Professionalizing the Nation’s Cybersecurity Workforce? Criteria for Future Decision-Making (2013)

Public Response to Alerts and Warnings Using Social Media: Summary of a Workshop on Current Knowledge and Research Gaps (2013)

Computing Research for Sustainability (2012)

Continuing Innovation in Information Technology (2012)

The Safety Challenge and Promise of Automotive Electronics: Insights from Unintended Acceleration (2012, with the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems and the Transportation Research Board)

The Future of Computing Performance: Game Over or Next Level? (2011)

Public Response to Alerts and Warnings on Mobile Devices: Summary of a Workshop on Current Knowledge and Research Gaps (2011)

Strategies and Priorities for Information Technology at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (2011)

Wireless Technology Prospects and Policy Options (2011)

Achieving Effective Acquisition of Information Technology in the Department of Defense (2010)

Critical Code: Software Producibility for Defense (2010)

Improving State Voter Registration Databases (2010)

Proceedings of a Workshop on Deterring Cyberattacks: Informing Strategies and Developing Options for U.S. Policy (2010)

Toward Better Usability, Security, and Privacy of Information Technology: Report of a Workshop (2010)

Limited copies of CSTB reports are available free of charge from

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
Keck Center of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
(202) 334-2605/cstb@nas.edu
www.cstb.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR A WORKSHOP ON ENCRYPTION AND MECHANISMS FOR AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT ACCESS TO PLAINTEXT

FRED H. CATE, Indiana University, Chair

DAN BONEH, Stanford University

FREDERICK R. CHANG, Southern Methodist University

ORIN KERR, George Washington University

SUSAN LANDAU, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Staff

EMILY GRUMBLING, Program Officer, Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB)

JON EISENBERG, Director, CSTB

SHENAE BRADLEY, Administrative Assistant, CSTB

RENEE HAWKINS, Financial Manager, CSTB

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD

FARNAM JAHANIAN, Carnegie Mellon University, Chair

LUIZ ANDRÉ BARROSO, Google, Inc.

STEVEN M. BELLOVIN, Columbia University

ROBERT F. BRAMMER, Brammer Technology, LLC

EDWARD FRANK, Brilliant Cloud & Lime Parity

SEYMOUR E. GOODMAN, Georgia Institute of Technology

LAURA HAAS, IBM Corporation

MARK HOROWITZ, Stanford University

MICHAEL KEARNS, University of Pennsylvania

ROBERT KRAUT, Carnegie Mellon University

SUSAN LANDAU, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

PETER LEE, Microsoft Corporation

DAVID E. LIDDLE, US Venture Partners

FRED B. SCHNEIDER, Cornell University

ROBERT F. SPROULL, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

JOHN STANKOVIC, University of Virginia

JOHN A. SWAINSON, Dell, Inc.

ERNEST J. WILSON, University of Southern California

KATHERINE YELICK, University of California, Berkeley

Staff

JON EISENBERG, Director

LYNETTE I. MILLETT, Associate Director

VIRGINIA BACON TALATI, Program Officer

SHENAE BRADLEY, Administrative Assistant

JANEL DEAR, Senior Program Assistant

EMILY GRUMBLING, Program Officer

RENEE HAWKINS, Financial and Administrative Manager

HERBERT S. LIN, Chief Scientist (emeritus)

For more information on CSTB, see its website http://www.cstb.org, write to CSTB at
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001,
call (202) 334-2605, or email the CSTB at cstb@nas.edu.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This workshop proceedings has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published workshop proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the project’s charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the study process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this workshop proceedings:

Dan Boneh, Stanford University,

Shafrira Goldwasser, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

David S. Kris, Intellectual Ventures,

Brian A. LaMacchia, Microsoft Research,

Richard W. Littlehale, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation,

Kate Martin, Center for American Progress, and

Radia J. Perlman, EMC Corporation.

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the views presented at the workshop, nor did they see the final draft of the workshop proceedings before its release. The review of this workshop proceedings was overseen by Samuel H. Fuller, Analog Devices, Inc., who was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this proceedings rests entirely with the authors and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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5 SESSION 3. SECURITY RISKS OF ARCHITECTURES FOR ENABLING GOVERNMENT ACCESS TO PLAINTEXT

Historical Context

Crypto War I

Crypto War II and the Cybersecurity Crisis

Fundamentals of the Current Cybersecurity Landscape

Exceptional Access: Considerations and Challenges

Discussion

Part 1: Issues and Context

Security Trade-offs

The Law Enforcement Context

The Industry Context

The Internet of Things

Part 2: Exploring Solutions

Requirements for an Exceptional Access System

Exploring a “k out of n” Solution

The Role of Hardware

The Feasibility of Segmenting by User

The Government’s Technical Resources: Lawful Hacking and Other Considerations

Building a More Productive Conversation

6 SESSION 4. TECHNICAL AND POLICY MITIGATIONS FOR INACCESSIBLE PLAINTEXT

The Threat of Cybercrime

Trends in Wiretapping

Lawful Hacking

The Role of Metadata

The Internet of Things

Potential Solutions

Discussion

Unintended Outcomes and the Balance Between Legal and Technical Protections

Exploring Divergent Perspectives on Metadata

Phone-Based Authentication: Strengths and Weaknesses

The Government’s Responsibilities When Vulnerabilities Are Exposed

7 WRAP-UP SESSION

Costs of Exceptional Access

Practical Considerations

Global Dimensions of Encryption and Access Mechanisms

Meeting Law Enforcement Needs

Disclosure of Vulnerabilities

The Use of Metadata

Closing Remarks from the Workshop Chair: Technology as Part of a System

APPENDIXES

A Workshop Statement of Task

B Workshop Agenda

C Biographical Sketches of Workshop Planning Committee and Staff

D Biographical Sketches of Invited Workshop Participants

E Acronyms and Abbreviations

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Page R7
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Page R9
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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Page R11
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Exploring Encryption and Potential Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23593.
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In June 2016 the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened the Workshop on Encryption and Mechanisms for Authorized Government Access to Plaintext. Participants at this workshop discussed potential encryption strategies that would enable access to plaintext information by law enforcement or national security agencies with appropriate authority. Although the focus of the workshop was on technical issues, there was some consideration of the broader policy context, and discussion about the topics of encryption and authorized exceptional analysis frequently addressed open policy questions as well as technical issues. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

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