The Feds are demanding your Passwords from Major Internet Companies

The federal government has demanded that major internet companies turn over users’ stored passwords, two sources told the respected tech website CNet. 

So what exactly does this “escalation” — as CNet calls it — mean? 

“If the government is able to determine a person’s password, which is typically stored in encrypted form, the credential could be used to log in to an account to peruse confidential correspondence or even impersonate the user,” the report says. “Obtaining it also would aid in deciphering encrypted devices in situations where passwords are reused.”

But it doesn’t end there. The government is not only requesting the passwords, but its also asking for algorithms and even security questions: 

Some of the government orders demand not only a user’s password but also the encryption algorithm and the so-called salt, according to a person familiar with the requests. A salt is a random string of letters or numbers used to make it more difficult to reverse the encryption process and determine the original password. Other orders demand the secret question codes often associated with user accounts.

Read the full story HERE,

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