back to article Sigh ... c'est la vie: France mulls mandatory encryption backdoors

The French Parliament is considering adding a requirement that tech companies must be able to break encryption on products used within its borders. In September, the French government asked citizens for feedback on an omnibus "Digital Republic" bill that would update its laws for the online age, including rules on open source …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'm puzzled.

    I'm using Tox at the moment for my messaging.

    There is no "company".

    Sending edicts to companies is going to make sod all difference to my secure comms.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      ...yeah they don't care about a few crypto nerds. Apple and Google will give them the 99.9%

      1. Yes Me Silver badge

        99.9%

        > Apple and Google will give them the 99.9%

        ...whereas the really really bad people who do really bad things are in the 0.01%, not being stupid. So it would pretty much guarantee that the exact people they need to catch will be absent from the data set.

        Merde alors.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: 99.9%

          "So it would pretty much guarantee that the exact people they need to catch will be absent from the data set."

          I know it's a bit chapeau du papier d'aluminium, but this behaviour is repeated so often that you can't help but seriously entertain the oft repeated notion that the people they need to catch are not the people they actually want to catch, or perhaps merely discourage. The only alternative seems to be the that the worlds security services are complete idiots, and that's no more attractive an idea.

          I really hope the French public haven't forgotten how to be politically difficult, because they usually do a pretty good job of it.

          1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

            Re: 99.9%

            I really hope the French public haven't forgotten how to be politically difficult, because they usually do a pretty good job of it.

            LOLNO. Only if the EURO injections from Le Gouvernement are not forthcoming or the corruption becomes so evident that fish heads are rotting under politician's canapés. Otherwise, it's Le Gallic Shrug.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Devil

    Enjoy going back to the pre-smartphone age

    Or at least without being able to buy iPhone or Android, you will feel like being forced to use a Windows Phone!

    1. ZSn

      Re: Enjoy going back to the pre-smartphone age

      You do know that windows phone comes with VPNs as well? The on-phone encryption may not be as good as with an iThing, but the VPN seems ok.

  3. a_yank_lurker

    Clouseau?

    I did not realize Inspector Clouseau represented competent French gendarmes and police. Of course the lyrics to the duet Bold Gendarmes may be appropriate here also.

    1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: Clouseau?

      No he does not.

      Inspector Ludovic Cruchot is one you need to familiarize yourself with (it is a pity he is not particularly popular in English speaking countries - this is French comedy at its best).

      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058135/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_27

      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060450/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_23

      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063005/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_14

      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065769/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_11

      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079200/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_4

      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083996/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt

      This is definitely Chrushot all right.

  4. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

    I hope this goes ahead

    Then they can show the world what a clusterfsck the idea is and maybe the rest of us will be spared the obvious problems that will occur., eg any foreign company not willing or able to play ball upping sticks and leaving and/or geoblocking France.

    1. Steven Roper

      Re: I hope this goes ahead

      Love it. Any country implementing this rank idiocy immediately gets cut off from the global internet and any and all forms of IT hardware are no longer available there. Welcome back to the Bronze Age, ladies and gentlemen, enjoy your newly primitive lifestyle!

      Lets see how long these wankers keep this up in the face of that.

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
        Trollface

        Re: I hope this goes ahead

        i CAN HARDLY WAIT TO SEE THIS IMPLEMENTED!

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I hope this goes ahead

        The tories steadfast determination to fuck up over here suggests we may not have to look across the channel to see what it's like.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I hope this goes ahead

        Given how well France maintains other insular systems, which is very well indeed, they'll be able to not only maintain it, but may give the Chinese pointers.

  5. SMabille

    Back to the future

    Hi,

    Seems like Marty McFly is alive and kicking, I remember the French having a similar attitude in the 90s when the US was planning to impose a mandatory backdoor chip (Clipper) the French took the "no encryption in this country" attitude, PGP being banned until 1996 (considered as "war class" weapon) . Of course it last until the first bank wanted to save money by providing e-banking.

    What's the saying about learning from your past mistake?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Back to the future

      Indeed - "the no encryption in this country" rule meant that at least one proprietary protocol reverse-engineering project commenced with a French version of the OS hosting said proprietary protocol.

    2. Vic

      Re: Back to the future

      What's the saying about learning from your past mistake?

      "Those who do not learn from history ... are bloody everywhere".

      Vic.

  6. tiggity Silver badge

    Regional

    "Here in the US"

    So is el reg finally admitting the gradual loss of the former string UK site identity amidst all the other (generally poor) changes to site content.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Unhappy

      Re: Regional

      Is anyone else *still* royally annoyed at the enormous pop down bar which I keep accidentally activating by mousing over it?

      This century's weird masturbatory obsession with complex "flashy" web pages just drives me nuts.

      Thank goodness that most web designers have realised (like the rest of us) how awful parallax scrolling front pages are for the user.

      Here's "looking forward" to the next annoying fad to be inflicted upon us in the coming months.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: Regional

        "Is anyone else *still* royally annoyed at the enormous pop down bar which I keep accidentally activating by mousing over it?"

        Yes.

  7. John Robson Silver badge

    Access to the hardware...

    Certainly - here is the hardware...

    What do you mean you can't access it - it's in your hands?

    No I can't unlock it for you...

    No, that's software, not hardware....

    Godbye.

  8. John Hughes

    Who proposed it?

    présenté par:

    Mme Kosciusko-Morizet, M. Martin-Lalande, M. Cinieri, Mme Duby-Muller, M. Sermier, Mme Rohfritsch, M. Straumann, M. Abad, M. Salen, M. Morel-A-L'Huissier, M. Ginesy, M. Mathis, M. Degallaix, M. Hetzel, Mme Grosskost, Mme Lacroute, Mme Genevard et M. Saddier

    It's an opposition ("Les Republicans") amendment -- it'll never pass.

    Kosciusko-Morizet is a grade-A idiot.

  9. John Sturdy
    Facepalm

    Would the banks take the appropriate measure?

    Would they dare to withdraw cashpoint service and online banking? One day of that would probably be enough to change the politician's minds. (Unless their ministers, like Bertie Ahern when Minister of Finance in Ireland, don't have bank accounts.)

  10. 2460 Something

    Gah, I wonder if this approach was sponsored by all 'alliance' countries as a guinea pig before rolling out their own.

  11. Velv

    A quick agreement from Google, Apple, Microsoft, HTC, Huwai, Samsung, and the other biggies not to sell in France after the law is passed will soon see it reversed. Cartel? "No, we're simply complying with your laws"

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Of course we dont have a back door to our encryption software.

      these will be the words of all the major tech companies as laws being proposed in the USA and i guess other countries will follow allow the companies to deny the facts and exempt them from any and all liability. Its Just the risk of being caught and public opinion making the company bankrupt by all its future revenue drying up that is what keeps them honest..... (as far as we know.... but they cant or wont say).

      As long as the companies keep a way to Pwn the hardware even with perfect non back-doored encryption software the Govt can still get manufacturers to assist with getting their hands on the information of the individuals they want

      You are only safe if you built the hardware from verified safe components, and personally compiled the code from source having checked and understood EVERY line. :-(

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Of course we dont have a back door to our encryption software.

        The only way to verify many of the hardware components is to use an electron (maybe stronger) microscope and that's provided you believe the reference materials that are provided. Sorry, but the days of perfectly scruntinized components are well gone*.

        On software? Can you even trust the compiler? No.

        * - This comes up a lot in the comments on Bruce Schneier's 'blog. Especially on Friday's if you are looking for 'historical' material.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Of course we dont have a back door to our encryption software.

          get an up vote. i almost put (if you trust the compiler) at the end of the post ;-)

  12. CPU

    Surprised they even asked

    During the 80s/90s I use to put a lot of WAN links into France, and every time we had to, by French law, turn the WAN encryption down to a level that the French spook service could de-crypt- we couldn't use the strongest encryption then available.

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