“Encryption Backdoors and the Fourth Amendment”

This law journal article analyzes the Dual_EC_PRNG backdoor, allegedly inserted by the NSA into encryption products, through a Fourth Amendment lens. The article explores whether the NSA's actions were reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. It examines three potential legal defenses against a Fourth Amendment violation. The first defense argues the backdoor wasn't a search or seizure. The article refutes this, stating the vulnerability's creation constituted a search or seizure. A second defense suggests the involvement of technology companies shields the NSA under the private-search doctrine. The article criticizes this doctrine and argues against its applicability in this case. The third defense claims users waived their rights under the third-party doctrine. This is rejected due to lack of user knowledge and historical Fourth Amendment interpretations. The article ultimately concludes that none of these defenses justify the NSA's actions. The NSA's actions violated the Fourth Amendment's reasonableness requirement. The article highlights the constitutional implications of government manipulation of encryption technology.