France joins the Netherlands in saying no to cryptographic backdoors

Secure communications exist for many reasons, including free speech from behind the borders of certain nations, to business secrets being discussed. These days it's under attack from several sectors, including law enforcement agencies investigating crimes and those who claim to need info for catching terrorists -- something we've recently found can be futile in some cases.

Just the other day we heard that the state of New York is looking to legislate backdoors into mobile devices, a law that seems unlikely to pass, given the amount of opposition and evidence against it being effective to anyone but the hackers, who are likely to be quick to find these openings.

For its part, the Netherlands has already stood up against allowing this. The country is not alone now as France is saying "non" to these tactics. In fact, in a staunch answer to this perceived controversy, France described the idea as "vulnerability by design". Stating further "While the intention is commendable, it opens the door to actors whose intentions are less than commendable". France's Digital Minister stated simply "In the government’s view, this is not a good solution".

Companies such as Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo, Facebook and, most notably Apple have all spoken out against such a plan, with Tim Cook being especially vocal.

These calls by government agencies and law enforcement will continue, this battle is far from being over, but minor victories, as France has provided, are greatly appreciated.

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