emptywheel

Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein has become the government’s unexpected encryption warrior. Last week, I interviewed him about his recent speeches and his history with the issue. Here's my new profile of Rosenstein at a key moment in the Crypto Wars: http://politico.pro/2yjUA93 

Rosenstein has given many speeches mentioning encryption, and he's even said the Obama admin's approach of negotiating with tech companies "is unlikely to work." That's a departure from his colleagues and predecessors — most knew cooperation was unlikely but wouldn't admit it.

I learned that Rosenstein, while U.S. Attorney in Maryland, dealt with 2 encryption cases in 2014-15, one re: data in motion and one re: data at rest. A DOJ official told me that he wanted to litigate over them but senior DOJ folks said no — they didn't want to poison the well.

Rosenstein confirmed this and told me: “My experience in those cases made it clear to me just how serious this issue was for traditional law enforcement."

Pre-Texas, a DOJ source told me there was "interest" inside the department in taking encryption back to court if the case is right. Rosenstein told me that he wants prosecutors to know that, if they think they need to sue, "they should not be reluctant to pursue it."

Why is this important right now? Because the Russia story has given Silicon Valley a bad image. DOJ might win a PR battle if a new encryption fight arose. Civil liberties folks told me they were concerned about this.