The Government Might Subpoena Your Toaster

To hear FBI Director Jim Comey tell it, his agency is going blind: Shielded by software that uses encryption to secure text or voice communications, criminals and terrorists are planning attacks and exploits on the very same platforms that you might use to stay in touch with your mom.

But Comey’s alarm over what he likes to call the “going dark” problem, echoed by other top law-enforcement and intelligence officials, has been met with resistance from tech companies, and experts say the government’s appeal for a way to access encrypted content is unrealistic.

Instead, some have placed the onus of innovation on he thinks it’s up to law enforcement to “adapt to ubiquitous encryption.”