National Security Agency

Speaking at a conference this summer, Chertoff crystallized what he sees as the risks of heading down such a path (that could likely prevent use of certain kinds of encryption). First, there is increased vulnerability. "You're basically making things less secure for ordinary people," he said.Second, emphasizing a point that other experts have made with his practical experience, "Really bad people are going to find apps and tools that are going to allow them to encrypt everything without a back door." It's a "pipe dream" to think governments will be able to stop this, given the global environment we live and work in. The likely result is that "legitimate actors will be making somewhat less secure communications and the bad guys will still not be able to be decrypted."