End-to-End Encryption and “Going Dark”

A new paper analyzes the current controversy over end-to-end encryption (E2EE) and its implications for law enforcement and national security. The paper identifies five distinct scenarios for how E2EE operates in practice, revealing a gap between the assumption that E2EE blocks lawful access and reality. E2EE is not limited to messaging, but is embedded throughout the modern technology stack, with severe consequences for cybersecurity, commerce, and government operations if broadly limited. The paper concludes that new government claims for restricting effective encryption deserve skepticism. This matters for engineers as it affects the security and functionality of their systems.