Canada's police chiefs want access to encryption keys, passwords.

• Position: INFO SECURITY - Brief article

At its annual conference in Ottawa, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police adopted a resolution seeking "a legislative means for public safety agencies inclusive of law enforcement, through judicial authorization, to compel the holder of an encryption key or password to reveal it to law enforcement."

According to the resolution, Internet and computer-related crime threatens the privacy and security interests of Canadian citizens, and law enforcement authorities have been unable to complete investigations of serious criminal activity as a result of their inability to execute judicially authorized services of electronic devices. The resolution contends that legislative authority to compel an individual to provide either law enforcement or public safety agencies with the password or encryption key for an electronic device is needed to support legitimate law enforcement interests.

"Canadian police are fighting an uphill battle,"...