EFF to Support Apple in Encryption Battle

[Uberjager]

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/0...ryption-battle

We learned on Tuesday evening that a U.S. federal magistrate judge ordered Apple to backdoor an iPhone that was used by one of the perpetrators of the San Bernardino shootings in December. Apple is fighting the order which would compromise the security of all its users around the world.
We are supporting Apple here because the government is doing more than simply asking for Apple’s assistance. For the first time, the government is requesting Apple write brand new code that eliminates key features of iPhone security—security features that protect us all. Essentially, the government is asking Apple to create a master key so that it can open a single phone. And once that master key is created, we're certain that our government will ask for it again and again, for other phones, and turn this power against any software or device that has the audacity to offer strong security.

Trump is opposed to Apple's refusal, and on twitter many people have condemned Apple for not complying. People are saying, "lives could be saved", "it could stop another attack", et cetera.

[TheGrey]

Good. I hope Apple fights this with everything they've got.

[Uberjager]

It's not like anything significant will be uncovered by information on that phone. I'll bet that the "best" information recovered would be little more than a pep talk from some Jihadist jack-off. No huge 9/11 type attack would be uncovered.

[Great-Kazoo]

It's not like anything significant will be uncovered by information on that phone. I'll bet that the "best" information recovered would be little more than a pep talk from some Jihadist jack-off. No huge 9/11 type attack would be recovered.

That's like saying There's no reason to keep detainees locked up , because they're innocent.

[HoneyBadger]

Those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither.


In all honesty, I really do believe that this is as fake as Hillary Clinton. There is zero chance in hell that the feds don't know everything that was on that phone already. Then Apple (whose recent sales performance has been lackluster) comes out and insists that their phones are so private that even the NSA doesn't know whats on them? Did we all forget everything that Edward Snowden revealed about the NSA blanket spying on American mobile devices with the full consent and cooperation of Yahoo, Google, Apple, etc?

[Uberjager]

That's like saying There's no reason to keep detainees locked up , because they're innocent.

You have to look at the benefits and costs. A benefit might be uncovering some Intel on a terrorist group. A cost would be precedent being set for companies being forced by court orders to engineer solutions, which could encroach upon the privacy of hundreds of millions of people.

[O2HeN2]

People are saying, "lives could be saved", "it could stop another attack", et cetera.

Ah, you mean the kind of people that wouldn't recognize what a "principle" is if it walked up to them and hit them in the face with a baseball bat?

O2

[Zundfolge]

A big part of the reason Apple doesn't want to be forced to unlock this phone is because it may not be able to. And when Apple techs brick the phone trying to unlock it they don't want to be held responsible.

I don't for a milisecond think that execs at Apple are refusing to unlock this phone because of some high ideal of individual privacy.

[Aloha_Shooter]

There's a whole lot of misinformation going around on this. From what I understand, the FBI is not asking Apple to crack the phone. They are asking Apple to produce a special "firmware update" that would eliminate the auto-delete function and allow the FBI to enter pin codes more rapidly and more automatically. Seeing as Apple has already done this in the past nearly 80 times, there is something else going on here causing Apple to say no. Certainly, producing a special firmware "upgrade" for the phone that would be very carefully controlled so as not to get out in the wild is well within Apple's capability. My guess is that Apple would be afraid the USG would hold on to the "upgrade" for use against other phones but that can be handled with two-person integrity during the "upgrade" process so no govvie ever gets to hold the firmware and Apple can be certain the software is destroyed afterwards.

[hatidua]

It's not like anything significant will be uncovered by information on that phone.

I doubt in the long game that it's "that" phone that they want, but that phone sure offers a good in for the future.