FBI repeatedly overstated encryption threat figures to Congress

Over a period of seven months, FBI Director Christopher A. moncler mens jackets Wray cited the inflated figure as the most compelling evidence for the need to address what the FBI calls “Going Dark” the spread of encrypted software that can block investigators’ access to digital data even with a court order.The cheap moncler jackets FBI first became aware of the miscount about moncler outlet sale a month ago and still does not have an accurate count of how many encrypted phones they received as part of criminal investigations last year, officials said. Last week, one internal estimate put the correct number of locked phones at 1,200, though officials expect that number to change as they launch a new audit, which could take weeks to moncler outlet complete, according to people familiar with the work.”The FBI’s initial assessment is that programming errors resulted in significant over counting of mobile devices cheap moncler outlet reported,” the FBI said in a statement Tuesday. The bureau said the problem stemmed from the use of three distinct databases that led to repeated counting of phones. Tests of the methodology conducted in April 2016 failed to detect the flaw, according to people familiar with the work.The acknowledgment comes at a perilous time for the FBI, whose credibility is being challenged by President Trump and his supporters over the ongoing investigation into whether any Trump associates helped Russia interfere with the 2016 election. The bureau has also been under pressure for other mistakes, including its failure to act on moncler sale a tip that a Florida teen was likely to carry out a school shooting which police said he did weeks later, killing 17.The FBI said that despite the phone counting errors, “Going Dark remains a serious problem for the FBI, as well as other federal, state, local and international moncler outlet online law enforcement buy moncler jackets partners..”While the FBI and law enforcement happen to be on moncler sale outlet the front lines of this problem, this is an urgent public safety issue for all of us,” Wray said during a January speech in New moncler coat York. “Because as horrifying as 7,800 in one year sounds, it’s going to be a lot worse in just a couple of years if we don’t find a responsible solution.”[FBI director warns of dangers of encryption]Since then, Wray has repeated the claim about 7,800 locked phones, including in a March speech. Those remarks were echoed earlier this month by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Each of those devices was tied to a threat to the American people,” Sessions said.Officials now admit none of those statements are true.The FBI’s admission is likely to fuel further criticism from lawmakers, privacy advocates and tech companies, and hinder the bureau’s public efforts to address encryption issues.The bureau has long argued that encrypting data in a way that makes it impossible for investigators to unlock a phone or computer, even with a signed order from a judge, leaves the country and its citizens less safe. Privacy groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation argue that encryption prevents crime by protecting people’s data from hackers.The FBI fought a bruising court fight in 2016 seeking to force Apple to help agents access the iPhone that had belonged to a dead gunman in San Bernardino, Calif. At first, the FBI said it had no ability to access the phone, though the government later dropped its case when a contracting firm came forward with a solution. That same year, a similar legal fight in cheap moncler a New York drug case ended when the defendant remembered his password and provided it to investigators.The FBI’s conduct in the San Bernardino case also called into question the accuracy of officials’ statements on the encryption issue. Then Director James B. Comey overstated what the phone hacking solution cost the bureau, according to people familiar with the matter, and a senior FBI official asked for an internal investigation to determine if her subordinates were lying about technical capabilities.A Justice Department Inspector General report concluded in March that, while officials did not make false statements in connection with that case, there were “misunderstandings and incorrect assumptions” among key players in the FBI’s technology wing.The cheap moncler sale https://www.moncleroutletsite.com FBI’s assertion that 7,775 phones could cheap moncler coats not be opened by their investigators last year has always struck a discordant note with critics and privacy advocates, who noted that just a year earlier, the FBI had claimed the figure was 880. Such a giant leap in locked phones could not monlcer down jackets be explained by changes in technology or criminal behavior, those critics reasoned.It is unclear moncler outlet store if the 880 figure is still accurate.Lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully to get more details about the FBI’s claims. Officials say they plan to provide updated information to congressional committees and individual lawmakers.

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