NSA chief agrees: multiple encryption keys weaken data security

The United States is home to the world’s most vibrant app economy—an industry that is now worth more than $120 billion. Providing data security is a crucial product differentiator for U.S. app companies competing in the global economy. As the Office of Personnel Management breach recently demonstrated, good security depends on multiple elements, but most reliably through strong encryption. Today, NSA Director Michael Rogers agreed.

In response to Senator Ron Wyden at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Director Rogers confirmed what encryption experts and data scientists have been saying all along: if the government requires companies to provide copies of encryption keys, it will only weaken data protection and open the door for malicious actors and hackers.

Image: Yuri Samoilov / license / no changes