Since the iPhone was officially introduced in China seven years ago, Apple has overcome a national security backlash there and has censored apps that wouldn't pass muster with Chinese authorities. It has moved local user data onto servers operated by the state-owned China Telecom and submits to security audits by Chinese authorities.
Security experts told Bloomberg that the FBI doesn’t actually need Apple’s help unlocking the iPhone 5c used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, but that the agency wants to establish legal precedent so tech companies will have to provide law enforcement with phone data when a warrant is issued.
Jay Edelson, a class-action lawyer at Edelson PC that specializes in suing technology companies (going after tech giants including Apple and Google), is on Silicon Valley’s side this time. He says the FBI chose this case to score political points -- not because hacking iPhones is too hard.
“The government’s take is even if we have experts in the government, we don’t have an obligation to enlist their help,” Edelson says. “They’re just trying to establish precedent. They think they have a decent argument where they can force companies to change their business systems to help them.”
"We're moving to a place where there are warrantproof places in our life," Comey testified before the House Judiciary Committee. "That's a world we've never lived in before in the United States that has profound consequences for public safety, and all I'm saying is, we shouldn't drift there."
"For most of American history, there was a warrant-free zone regarding people's communication across the country," Boutrous says. "There weren't surveillance techniques. There weren't ways to capture what people were saying to each other. And so the government has become so used to having surveillance techniques, they forget this is a relatively new development."
“If Apple can provide data from thousands of iPhones and Apple users to China and other countries, it can comply with [the court order] in America.”
This claim related to the fact that Apple stored data in China and supports wireless networks that work only in China, which has led many to suggest some form of collusion with the Chinese government. Apple fully admits it stores data in China and supports local networks, but says this is to comply with local regulations and for usability purposes.
"We are not asking for a backdoor, nor are we asking him to turn anything on to spy on anyone," she said, alluding to the Univision interview Wednesday, in which Apple exec Eddy Cue suggested law enforcement could soon be demanding use of iPhone cameras and microphones for surveillance.
"We're asking them to do what their customer wants," she said, noting that the phone belongs to the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, which employed one of the two terrorists killed in a shootout with police after the attack. "It's very narrow and it's very focused."
Apple employees are already discussing what they will do if ordered to help law enforcement authorities. Some say they may balk at the work, while others may even quit their high-paying jobs rather than undermine the security of the software they have already created, according to more than a half-dozen current and former Apple employees.
shouldn't be that hard even though ...bypass passcode restrictions on the device and allow the FBI to enter a passcode electronically instead of manually
Apple has said it will take six to ten engineers a period of two to four weeks to develop the new operating system.
Malcolm wrote:1) somewhere at Apple right now, there's a programmer who's enough of a tool to fulfill a court order -- there's always one on every code job
<1% of their user base gives a damn.
You're claiming security is going to be the proverbial line in the sand for 1 of every 10 Apple users? I'll take that bet any day of the week.TPRJones wrote:If Apple gives in I could easily see them losing 10% of their users to other more secure platforms over it.
TPRJones wrote:Hopefully we won't have to find out.
...experts say law enforcement has to find a way to fight crime in a world with strong encryption.
"The cost of maintaining a free society is that sometimes criminals won't be caught," said John Hasnas, a professor of ethics at Georgetown's McDonough School of Business. "Sometimes there are bad things we can't prevent."
Apple says the government is asking for a back door into all iPhones. If the FBI is able to get access to one phone, it'll ask for access to more, the company said. There's also no way to guarantee that the loophole won't fall into the hands of criminals. It would become a top prize for hackers, and Apple undoubtedly would face attacks.
Apple also fears the government's demands won't stop with unlocking iPhones. Next, law enforcement could ask for access to an iPhone's camera and microphone to keep tabs on you, Eddy Cue, Apple's head of Internet software and services, said during a recent Univision interview.
FBI Director James Comey warned a Congressional committee earlier this month that offering a place no authorities could touch would create a haven for terrorists and criminals.
"Before these devices came around, there was no closet, basement or drawer in America that could not be entered with a judge's order," he said.
An outside party came forward Sunday and showed investigators a way to circumvent the iPhone security features that had previously flummoxed the FBI’s computer experts, federal authorities said Monday.