Bitkom criticizes planned government access to encrypted communication data

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Bitkom calls for better equipment instead of additional powers
Conference of Interior Ministers of the States begins on 12 June 2019
The federal government is currently planning various changes to the law with the aim of improving access to encrypted communication data for criminal prosecution purposes. The digital association Bitkom criticizes these initiatives and fears a massive weakening of general IT security in Germany.

The state justice ministers are therefore committed to ensuring that communication data can also be intercepted and monitored via the 5G mobile communications standard in the future. 5G technology provides for end-to-end encryption of communication and, thanks to new security standards, prevents radio cell queries that were previously possible.

"The prevention and prosecution of crimes must also be possible in a networked canada gambling data world," says Bitkom CEO Dr. Bernhard Rohleder. "That is precisely why network security should be the top priority. You cannot, on the one hand, think out loud about the trustworthiness of Chinese network technology and then circumvent end-to-end encryption. In just a few years, 5G will be used to control our factories, organize energy supplies and also offer telemedicine. Politicians should not subsequently weaken the established 5G security standards."



No planned breaking points in IT security
Bitkom is equally critical of the federal government's reportedly planned plan to give security authorities access to end-to-end encrypted chats and phone calls. This would require messenger services to log users' communications and, upon court order, forward them to authorities unencrypted.

"It is a misconception that predetermined breaking points in an IT security architecture can be permanently controlled. Anyone who deliberately wants to weaken encrypted communication is also opening the door to cyber criminals ," says Rohleder.

From Bitkom's point of view, government agencies should not be allowed to deliberately weaken IT infrastructures and products. Likewise, manufacturers should not be required to build backdoors into their products for government agencies. Conversely, government actors should be required to report if they become aware of security gaps.