The inability of law enforcement authorities to obtain data from electronic devices because of their tight encryption is an "urgent public safety issue" as it seeks to renew a controversial debate on privacy and security, said FBI Director Christopher Ray
The FBI was unable to obtain data from about 7,800 devices in the fiscal year that ended September 30 using technical means, although it had the legal authority to do so, an increasing number affecting all areas of the FBI's work.
Ray said in a speech at a conference on cyber security in New York that the FBI had been unable to access data in more than half of the devices tried to open due to encryption, according to Reuters.
Technology firms and many digital security experts say FBI attempts to claim that they allow investigators to access the mobile phone of a suspected criminal will damage e-security and allow hackers to have malicious targets. But US lawmakers have shown little interest in seeking legislation to require companies to produce devices that make it easier for judicial access authorities to access their content.
Ray's remarks at the International Cyber Security Conference were his most detailed remarks so far as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on the problem, which his agency and local law enforcement authorities say have for years hampered countless investigations.
Ray took over the FBI in August.