The Russian FSB is developing a ‘universal system of trusted storage for encryption keys from mobile apps’ to enable law enforcement access to encrypted information, Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
He described end-to-end encryption in messaging apps as a ‘serious challenge’, as it hinders law enforcement’s operational access to data in counter-terrorism contexts.
Syromolotov noted that many countries are trying to solve this problem. As an example, he cited the Five Eyes alliance. He said that member countries are weighing weakening mobile-app security by introducing backdoors, ‘the use of which is practically impossible to control’.
“In this context, I would like to draw attention to the FSB of Russia’s counter-terrorism initiative to create a universal system of trusted storage for encryption keys from mobile apps for the operational access of law enforcement to encrypted information,” said Deputy Foreign Minister.
Syromolotov did not disclose further details of the initiative, but noted that foreign partners welcomed the proposal.
In 2019, the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, already spoke of a ‘depository system for encryption keys generated by mobile apps’. He said at the time that the use of encryption by messaging apps hinders counter-terrorism efforts.
The executive director of the Internet Protection Society, Mikhail Klimarev, told ForkLog that discussions about such a system are likely to remain discussions, as developers will not accommodate officials:
“No developer in their right mind would ‘deposit’ any encryption keys. It’s the same as admitting that the app is dangerous to use.”
Lawyer Mikhail Tretyak, a partner at Digital Right Center, says that access to encryption keys of mobile apps by security services could ‘not only help, among other things, in investigating crimes, but also harm’.
He notes the need to remember regular data leaks and breaches of information systems:
“Such a database would undoubtedly be the number one target for hackers’ attacks worldwide. Consequently, no citizen will be insulated from access to such encryption keys not only by law enforcement but also by criminals.”
Tretyak noted that such a system creates room for abuses and may violate the right to privacy.
In an interview, Syromolotov also warned of serious risks of spreading ‘information praising violence, terrorism, aimed at radicalising the population’ on social networks.
Earlier, Russian authorities had already begun to tackle the spread of such content on social networks — on February 1 amendments to Russian law came into force obliging platforms to identify and block illegal information themselves.
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