The EU authorities expressed their intentions to disclose correspondence in messengers.
Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard proposed to restrict access to WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal messengers, as they are used by criminals to coordinate their activities. Hummelgaard said that existing legislation does not allow for such restrictions, but the government is looking for ways to develop new legal instruments.
The minister stressed that these messengers are a "strong legal headache", as encryption complicates the work of law enforcement agencies. Hummelgaard intends to introduce geo-blocking or complete closure of some of these services, if possible.
Earlier, the Danish police noted that they would like to be able to access encrypted messages in order to fight international crime, but admitted that this is unlikely given the current level of security of such messengers. Information security experts have also expressed skepticism about the possibility of cracking encryption, suggesting that police officers could try to install spyware on suspects devices, which also comes with a number of difficulties.
Representatives of Signal and WhatsApp said they would stop the activities of messengers in Europe if they were forced to implement backdoors that would allow the authorities to read encrypted messages. Critics also warn that the available backdoors can be exploited not only by law enforcement, but also by attackers.
Hummelgaard also noted that Swedish law enforcement agencies have already made some progress in decrypting messages and expressed his intention to provide additional resources to strengthen such capabilities in Denmark. At the same time, it is necessary to find a balance between the right of citizens to confidential correspondence and the need to combat crime. Discussions are already underway in the EU about the possible introduction of new measures to control digital communications that could help combat the spread of child pornography and other crimes.
At the same time, the Danish police stressed that law enforcement agencies should be able to access the communications of suspects on the basis of a court order, which is the basis of a legal system that protects citizens from unjustified interference.
Recently, the news spread around the world that Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested by the French authorities for failing to adequately moderate content. While this raises many questions, the very fact of prosecuting social media is a serious step that deserves to be discussed.
However, cryptographer Matthew Green did not focus on the arrest itself, but on one particular aspect of the coverage of the event. Almost all media outlets call Telegram an "encrypted messenger". The term, while not technically incorrect, is misleading to users and journalists, which can lead to serious consequences.
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Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard proposed to restrict access to WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal messengers, as they are used by criminals to coordinate their activities. Hummelgaard said that existing legislation does not allow for such restrictions, but the government is looking for ways to develop new legal instruments.
The minister stressed that these messengers are a "strong legal headache", as encryption complicates the work of law enforcement agencies. Hummelgaard intends to introduce geo-blocking or complete closure of some of these services, if possible.
Earlier, the Danish police noted that they would like to be able to access encrypted messages in order to fight international crime, but admitted that this is unlikely given the current level of security of such messengers. Information security experts have also expressed skepticism about the possibility of cracking encryption, suggesting that police officers could try to install spyware on suspects devices, which also comes with a number of difficulties.
Representatives of Signal and WhatsApp said they would stop the activities of messengers in Europe if they were forced to implement backdoors that would allow the authorities to read encrypted messages. Critics also warn that the available backdoors can be exploited not only by law enforcement, but also by attackers.
Hummelgaard also noted that Swedish law enforcement agencies have already made some progress in decrypting messages and expressed his intention to provide additional resources to strengthen such capabilities in Denmark. At the same time, it is necessary to find a balance between the right of citizens to confidential correspondence and the need to combat crime. Discussions are already underway in the EU about the possible introduction of new measures to control digital communications that could help combat the spread of child pornography and other crimes.
At the same time, the Danish police stressed that law enforcement agencies should be able to access the communications of suspects on the basis of a court order, which is the basis of a legal system that protects citizens from unjustified interference.
Recently, the news spread around the world that Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested by the French authorities for failing to adequately moderate content. While this raises many questions, the very fact of prosecuting social media is a serious step that deserves to be discussed.
However, cryptographer Matthew Green did not focus on the arrest itself, but on one particular aspect of the coverage of the event. Almost all media outlets call Telegram an "encrypted messenger". The term, while not technically incorrect, is misleading to users and journalists, which can lead to serious consequences.
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