Smartphone encryption ban? It's a boon for criminals and terrorists

In one of the single most wrong-headed moves possible by legislators (and that's saying a lot), New York is attempting to ban encrypted smartphones.

In my role as Cyberwarfare Advisor for the International Association of Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, I recently authored a briefing paper entitled "Strong encryption for everyone is a national security advantage," intended to guide agencies, departments, legislators and organizations into making the right decision over encryption.

What follows are the three key reasons.

BACK DOORS WILL BE USED AGAINST US

Built-in back doors forced into our encryption technologies will be used against us far more than those back doors will help law enforcement. It's very important to be aware that flaws built into smartphone encryption (and other forms of crypto) will be very quickly exploited by bad guys and terrorists, and used against our citizens for everything from basic crime to blackmail.