Feds put heat on Web firms for master encryption keys (CNET)
CNET is
reporting that the US government has been requesting the private SSL/TLS keys of major internet firms. Without
perfect forward secrecy (which is rarely used on today's internet), that would allow the US to decode HTTPS traffic—even retroactively. It's not clear which, if any, internet companies have turned over those keys. "
It's not entirely clear whether federal surveillance law gives the U.S. government the authority to demand master encryption keys from Internet companies.
'That's an unanswered question,' said Jennifer Granick, director of civil liberties at Stanford University's Center for Internet and Society. 'We don't know whether you can be compelled to do that or not.'"