Going Dark and law enforcement hacking era
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The gist
A cryptography engineering blog post warns U.S. agencies may lose surveillance capability as software bugs run out. The shift to law enforcement hacking creates perverse incentives to stockpile vulnerabilities.
Background
The 'going dark' problem refers to law enforcement's declining ability to intercept encrypted communications despite lawful warrants. Historically, agencies pushed for legislative backdoors, but since 2014 they've shifted to buying or developing hacking tools from vendors like Cellebrite and Grayshift. A recent blog post argues that as major software runs out of remotely-exploitable bugs, agencies may truly 'go dark', but this also creates a perverse incentive to keep vulnerabilities unpatched.
How it unfolded
- 2014FBI Director Comey announced the 'Going Dark' initiative to start a national conversation about compelling providers to make communications legible to law enforcement.
- Aug 14, 2026A blog post titled 'Everything is about to go dark' is published on cryptographyengineering.com, warning that U.S. agencies may lose capability as software bugs run out.
- Aug 15, 2026The post gains traction on Hacker News with 235 points, sparking debate over encryption backdoors and law enforcement hacking.
Who’s saying what
- Expert
- The blog author expresses concern that law enforcement and intelligence agencies may lose a huge portion of their capability, which also affects those who value computer security and privacy.
- Analysts
- Analysts note that the era of law enforcement hacking is a shift from demanding backdoors to buying offensive capabilities, which is cheaper and avoids Congress but creates perverse incentives.