The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is worried that the encryption features of Apple and Google can be used by criminals for their own advantage, Computer World reported.
With the recent release of the iOS 8, iPhone and iPad users now have the option to encrypt their personal information through passwords. In addition, Apple's kill switch can only be activated by users, not law enforcers.
As for Google, the tech giant previously announced that it will include a default data encryption feature in the latest version of the Android.
According to law enforcers, they often times turn to information stored in smartphones to solve criminal cases.
For FBI Director James Comey, preventing law enforcers from accessing data on mobile devices is like giving users power over authorities, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"What concerns me about this is companies marketing something expressly to allow people to place themselves beyond the law," Comey said.
Like Comey, Ronald Hosko, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, noted that although Apple and Google are trying to protect users from cyber attacks through data encryption, this feature also limits authorities from accessing vital information from criminals.
"Apple's and Android's new protections will protect many thousands of criminals who seek to do us harm, physically or financially," Hosko wrote in a letter to the Washington Post.
"They will protect those who desperately need to be stopped from lawful, authorized and entirely necessary safety and security efforts," he added. "And they will make it impossible for police to access crucial information, even with a warrant."
Hosko then warned that if Google and Apple don't change their stance on default encryption, the way how criminals operate could change.
"We've lived in an era where the term 'connecting the dots' is commonly used," he stated.
"If our cutting edge technologies are designed to keep important dots out of the hands of our government, we all might start thinking about how safe and secure we will be when the most tech-savvy, dedicated criminals exponentially increase their own success rates," Hosko added.
