科技公司不會奔向強加密之路

What happens when the wave of encryption rippling through the personal technology world washes up against the realities of the data economy?

當個人科技產品世界掀起的加密浪潮拍上數字化經濟的現實時，會發生什麼情況？

Most of the recent debate over the spread of encryption has centred on the implications for personal privacy and national security. Less has been said about business: in particular, what a greater use of encryption will mean for the usability of tech products and services, and for the business models that rely on capturing and extracting value from data.

近期圍繞普及加密技術的討論，主要集中在加密之於個人隱私及國家安全的意義，較少涉及其在商業方面的影響。特別是，加密技術的廣泛使用對科技產品及服務的可用性、以及依賴於從數據中挖掘價值的商業模式來說意味着什麼？

This week, it was WhatsApp’s turn to push encryption deeper into everyday life, with the news that conversations between its 1bn users will be scrambled. WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging app, has already run into problems in Brazil for not storing messages demanded by a court. Now, it will not be able to “read” real-time communications either.

這回輪到WhatsApp讓加密技術更深入人們的日常生活——上週，有報道稱，其10億用戶之間的對話內容將被加密。Facebook的這款通訊應用軟件此前已在巴西惹上麻煩，原因是其未按法院要求存儲信息。現在，它也將無法“讀取”實時對話了。

When the makers of mass-market products and services make a show of taking steps such as this to protect their users, it can shift expectations. Although Apple’s legal fight with the US government over an encrypted iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino killers ended inconclusively, it sent a clear message about the lengths the company would go to to protect its users.

當大衆市場產品及服務的提供商故意表現出要採取此類措施保護用戶的姿態時，這可能會改變人們的期望。儘管蘋果(Apple)與美國政府的法律之爭——圍繞聖貝納迪諾槍擊案兇手一部加密iPhone——已無果而終，但這明確傳達出了蘋果不遺餘力保護用戶的態度。

At least at the device level, encryption is quickly becoming the norm. Amazon’s reversal last month over its latest Fire operating system proved the point. News that the software no longer encrypts data as a matter of course brought an instant outcry from privacy activists — forcing the company to backtrack hastily with a promise to restore the capability in a future update.

至少在設備層面上，加密正在迅速成爲行業慣例。上個月，亞馬遜(Amazon)圍繞其最新Fire操作系統的態度大轉變便證明了這一點。有關該軟件不再把數據加密作爲理所當然的義務的新聞一經報道，立刻引起了隱私維權人士的強烈抗議——迫使該公司匆忙轉變態度，承諾在未來的更新版本中重新恢復加密技術。

After delays, Google has also moved to default encryption in the most recent release of Android, its mobile operating system. Not that many of the world’s Android users will see the benefit in the short term: five months after the software’s release, only 2.6 per cent of Android phones are running the latest operating system, according to the company.

在數次推遲後，谷歌(Google)也在最新發布的手機操作系統Android中默認採用加密功能。並非很多Android用戶都會在短期內看到加密的好處：根據谷歌的數據，在該版本發佈5個月後，只有2.6%的Android手機運行了最新版本的操作系統。

But this is only one side of the story. Few people would want to lock all their data into a single gadget. Besides the risk of loss, it would be to turn back the clock on one of the main benefits of cloud computing: accessing personal information from different devices. The San Bernardino terrorists also used Apple’s iCloud, even if the last time they backed up data from an iPhone was some seven weeks before last year’s shootings.

但是，這只是故事的一方面而已。沒有多少人想把所有的信息都鎖在一臺設備中。除了丟失的風險，這還相當於讓時光倒流到沒有云計算的時代——利用雲技術，用戶可以在不同設備上訪問個人信息。貝納迪諾槍擊案中的恐怖分子也用蘋果iCloud，雖然他們最後一次對iPhone數據進行備份是在槍擊案發生前7周左右。

Data in iCloud are encrypted — but, crucially, Apple has the keys, making it possible for courts to order it to hand over information. As a result, since its fight with the FBI, Apple has also been looking at how to put encrypted iCloud data beyond its own reach.

存儲在iCloud的數據也是經過加密的——但是，關鍵是蘋果掌握着iCloud的鑰匙，所以法院可以命令蘋果交出信息。因此，自從與美國聯邦調查局(FBI)抗爭之後，蘋果也在尋找將iCloud加密數據脫離自己掌控的辦法。

There are good reasons, though, to think this drive towards strong encryption will reach a natural limit. Putting cloud-based data beyond the reach of the companies hosting it would limit its value. At the most basic level, it would mean users would not be able to recover their personal information if they forgot their passwords.

不過，我們有理由認爲，這股朝着“強加密”發展的趨勢將自然而然達到一個極限。讓雲數據脫離科技公司掌控的做法會限制數據的價值。最簡單來說，這意味着一旦用戶忘記了密碼，他們將無法找回個人信息。

Making information unreadable would also make it harder to tailor many online services. Personalisation is the great hope for a world awash with too much data. Shaping digital experiences relies on being able to analyse a user’s personal and behavioural information.

使數據不可讀也會令企業難以定製在線服務。在充斥着太多數據的世界，個性化被寄予了很大希望。打造數字化體驗，依賴於分析用戶的個人數據和行爲信息。

There are also powerful economic motivations for limiting encryption. As Harvard University’s Berkman Center said in a recent report , the advertising businesses of companies such as Google and Facebook rely on being able to target adverts based on what they know about their users.

還有強大的經濟動因支撐着對加密技術加以限制。正如哈佛大學(Harvard University)伯克曼中心(Berkman Center)在最近一份報告中所說的那樣，谷歌(Google)和Facebook等公司的廣告業務依賴於根據他們對用戶的瞭解來針對性地投放廣告。

Many new types of data are also valued for their ability to be processed. For instance, the “internet of things” is founded on the idea of being able to collect, collate and analyse vast amounts of information thrown off by myriad smart objects. Besides sensors, many of these devices will have cameras and microphones: they will, in effect, be watching and listening.

很多新型數據也因爲可以被加工而受到重視。例如，“物聯網”是基於對衆多智能設備釋放的大量數據進行收集、整理和分析的理念而建立。除傳感器外，很多智能設備將配有攝像頭和麥克風：實際上，它們將擁有看和聽的功能。

It is no wonder that many in the tech industry reject the idea that the spread of encryption will make life harder for law enforcement, and instead argue that a “golden age of surveillance” is at hand.

難怪很多科技行業人士否認普及加密技術會加大執法難度，相反他們認爲“監控的黃金時代”即將到來。

That is hardly a phrase guaranteed to instil confidence in their customers. But privacy concerns often take a back seat when new digital services bring greater convenience to users’ lives. A battle over encryption is set to rage in the coming years, but its impact on the broader data economy should not be overstated.

這不是一個會給他們的用戶帶來信心的說法。但是，當新的數字化服務爲用戶的生活帶來更多便利時，對隱私的擔憂往往會靠邊站。未來數年，加密之戰註定會越演越烈，但是不應該誇大這對數字化經濟的影響。