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[CANNON FIRE]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Today's terrorists
have a very powerful weapon in their arsenal.
Technology.
Following a series of devastating attacks,
like in Beirut and Paris, counterterrorism officials
believe it's harder to track them
because they operate by going dark.
MICHAEL MORRELL: I think what we're
going to learn is that these guys are communicating
via these encrypted apps, which is
a very difficult, if not impossible
for governments to break.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Encryption, disguising messages with a code
so others can't read it, has been around since 1900 BC,
with the ancient Egyptians and cryptography.
In the modern age the practice has evolved and gone digital,
allowing for electronic communication that
can't be deciphered.
Most encryption programs transform information
into a complicated series of letters and numbers,
which can only be unlocked with a key.
But one conversation can have many encryption codes, making
it near impossible to crack.
We use encryption every day to keep our personal information
safe, like when we shop online or do our banking.
But some databases provide the perfect cover
for those who want it.
Terror groups have used encryption for years.
But now it's more secure and accessible.
Tor, software originally developed by the US government
to protect private intelligence, uses an anonymous network
of servers to create a space on the dark web, where
users are untraceable online.
And even more convenient, coded communication
is at our fingertips.
Apps like iMessage, WhatsApp, Signal, Wicker, and Telegram
use end to end encryption, like this.
Messages are only visible to those sending and receiving
them.
Many services allow for messages to disappear after a set time,
be sent to a large group at once, and to not be forwarded.
Some officials blame the Edward Snowden leaks
for revealing the NSA's tactics for collecting information,
encouraging the wrong people to better cover their tracks.
At the very least, it triggered a debate
over widespread use of encryption,
with a line drawn between the need for surveillance
and the right to privacy.
TIM COOK: Sacrificing our right to privacy
can have dire consequences.
JAMES COMEY: The government is clear.
We need to, with the right showing to a judge,
be able to get access to the information
in those targeted individual cases.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Government intelligence agencies
want tech companies to leave a flaw, or a back door
in their programs, so they can decrypt messages if necessary.
But a way in for the good guys also
means a potential way in for the bad guys,
like hackers and spies.
Even with encrypted communication, US law
enforcement and government agencies
still have ways of gathering critical clues and information,
like for metadata.
So as the world tries to navigate this new challenge
in our war on terrorism, the next time you hear
about encrypted messaging apps, at least you can say,
now I get it.