{"id":14730,"date":"2020-12-24T06:00:53","date_gmt":"2020-12-24T14:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.privateinternetaccess.com\/blog\/?p=14730"},"modified":"2023-08-04T11:43:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T18:43:00","slug":"the-widening-solarwinds-debacle-shows-why-the-reckless-idea-of-backdooring-encryption-must-be-dropped-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privateinternetaccess.com\/blog\/the-widening-solarwinds-debacle-shows-why-the-reckless-idea-of-backdooring-encryption-must-be-dropped-forever\/","title":{"rendered":"The widening SolarWinds debacle shows why the reckless idea of backdooring encryption must be dropped forever"},"content":{"rendered":"

The SolarWinds hack is the most serious breach of governmental and corporate security in years, perhaps the most serious breach ever \u2013 at least among those that we know about. The first news of the attack appeared on the FireEye blog at the beginning of this month. From the start, it was clear that this was something beyond the usual hack in terms of its sophistication and impact:<\/p>\n

The attackers tailored their world-class capabilities specifically to target and attack FireEye. They are highly trained in operational security and executed with discipline and focus. They operated clandestinely, using methods that counter security tools and forensic examination. They used a novel combination of techniques not witnessed by us or our partners in the past.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Key to the intrusion was the insertion of malicious code into the Orion network monitoring software from SolarWinds \u2013 a backdoor<\/a> in software that was very widely used and trusted. Although most analysis has focused on the identity of the attackers \u2013 the general consensus seems to be that it was a Russian group, probably with the connivance of the authorities there \u2013 it\u2019s worth looking at another aspect: the fact that a backdoor was created in widely used software, and deployed to such devastating effect.<\/p>\n

The issue of backdoors is an extremely important one for privacy, as numerous posts on this blog<\/a> attest. Governments around the world continue to insist that law enforcement agencies must have \u201clawful access\u201d to encrypted communications, which are in danger of \u201cgoing dark\u201d, as they put it. But as every security expert points out, adding any kind of backdoor to software that is supposedly secure is a recipe for disaster. It\u2019s like building a physical backdoor in the otherwise massive defenses of a medieval castle. The backdoor becomes not just the weakest point of the entire building, but the obvious weak point. That\u2019s particularly relevant because of the changing nature of the security and hacking landscape. Microsoft\u2019s President, Brad Smith wrote a blog post about the SolarWinds attack, where he notes that there is an \u201cevolving threat<\/a>\u201c:<\/p>\n

the growing privatization of cybersecurity attacks through a new generation of private companies, akin to 21st-century mercenaries. This phenomenon has reached the point where it has acquired its own acronym \u2013 PSOAs, for private sector offensive actors. Unfortunately, this is not an acronym that will make the world a better place.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The emergence of these hackers for hire compounds the risk of adding an intentional weakness \u2013 such as a backdoor \u2013 to critical software. It means that in addition to the usual state actors that will try to break into a system that contains a backdoor, there are a host of smaller but often highly competent commercial players who will try to do the same. That is especially the case if the software that has been backdoored is widely used, since finding a way in will be something that can be sold at a very high price, given its broad applicability. There are few pieces of code more widely used than encrypted communications, one of the main targets of calls for backdoors to be required by law. As a result, the value of an exploit that grants third parties access to such encrypted communications will be even greater. Writing about the SolarWinds attack, Brad Smith also commented:<\/p>\n

This is not \u201cespionage as usual,\u201d even in the digital age. Instead, it represents an act of recklessness that created a serious technological vulnerability for the United States and the world. In effect, this is not just an attack on specific targets, but on the trust and reliability of the world\u2019s critical infrastructure in order to advance one nation\u2019s intelligence agency.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wilfully introducing a potential vulnerability into encrypted messaging programs used by billions of people is also \u201can act of recklessness\u201d, given the high probability that national actors or PSOAs will find and exploit weaknesses. It is not just reckless, it is also unnecessary.<\/p>\n

Back in 2017, the security expert Bruce Schneier co-wrote a paper about encryption workarounds<\/a> \u2013 ways to reveal unencrypted information without the need for any \u201clawful access\u201d backdoors. The paper divides workarounds into six broad categories: find the encryption key, guess the key, compel the key, exploit a flaw in the encryption software, access plaintext while the device is in use, and locate another plaintext copy. Importantly, these are not simply theoretical approaches. Back in October<\/a>, Privacy News Online wrote about a report from Upturn<\/a>, entitled \u201cMass Extraction: The Widespread Power of U.S. Law Enforcement to Search Mobile Phones.\u201d One section dealt with security circumvention, and how mobile device forensic tools ( MDFTs) are remarkably successfully in bypassing even the strongest encryption:<\/p>\n

MDFTs can often circumvent the security features built into phones in order to extract user data. In response, phone manufacturers continuously patch known security vulnerabilities and develop even more advanced security features, seeking to thwart unwelcome access, including by MDFTs. This \u201ccat-and-mouse game\u201d has evolved over years and continues to this day. MDFTs use numerous tactics to gain access to users\u2019 data on phones, such as guessing a password, exploiting a vulnerability or developer tool, or even installing spyware. With rare exception, MDFTs can nearly always access and extract some, if not all, data from phones.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The real-life experience of US law enforcement agencies shows that encryption isn\u2019t an insuperable problem, despite claims to the contrary from grandstanding politicians. There is certainly no evidence whatsoever that it is serious enough to warrant mandating backdoors in programs used by billions of people. Let\u2019s hope that the continuing fallout from the backdoored SolarWinds software will at least help people understand why.<\/p>\n

Feature image by GPA Photo Archive<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The SolarWinds hack is the most serious breach of governmental and corporate security in years, perhaps the most serious breach ever \u2013 at least among those that we know about. The first news of the attack appeared on the FireEye blog at the beginning of this month. From the start, it was clear that this … Continue reading “The widening SolarWinds debacle shows why the reckless idea of backdooring encryption must be dropped forever”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":14738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":true,"_modified_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1001,1,130,1940,1941],"tags":[507,2129,2130,2075,178,1556,2120],"class_list":["post-14730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security","category-encryption","category-news","category-governments","category-social-media","category-surveillance","tag-backdoors","tag-brad-smith","tag-bruce-schneier","tag-lawful-access","tag-microsoft","tag-mobile-phones","tag-solarwinds"],"yoast_head":"\nThe widening SolarWinds debacle shows why the reckless idea of backdooring encryption must be dropped 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