https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00396338.2016.1142085
Encryption policy is becoming a crucial test of the values of liberal democracy in the twenty-first century. The trigger is a dilemma: the power of ciphers protects citizens when they read, bank and shop online – and the power of ciphers protects foreign spies, terrorists and criminals when they pry, plot and steal. Encryption bears directly on today's two top threats, militant extremism and computer-network breaches – yet it enables prosperity and privacy. Should the state limit and regulate the fast-growing use of cryptography? If so, how?
In September 2013, the New York Times and the Guardian jointly revealed Bullrun, a $250-million-per-year programme to make encrypted internet traffic accessible to the United States’ and United Kingdom's intelligence agencies.