"ENUF of this WHITE PRIVILEGE!
I want it, and YOU WILL
GIVE IT TO ME!
Oh, and Death to America!"
Posted on 10/25/2015 6:38:49 PM PDT by Swordmaker
Earlier this week, Apple stated that it would be nearly impossible for it to access the data on a passcode-locked iOS device running iOS 8 or later. The company also noted, however, that even if it were possible, it would not feel comfortable doing so as to not tarnish the trust it shares with its customers. The Department of Justice has now dismissed that argument, saying that Apple should be required to unlock encrypted data because iOS is “licensed, not sold” to customers (via DailyDot).
“Apple designed, manufactured, and sold [the phone] that is the subject of the search warrant,” the government told U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein. “But that is only the beginning of Apple’s relationship to the phone and to this matter. Apple wrote and owns the software that runs the phone, and this software is thwarting the execution of the warrant.”
The specific case in which the U.S. government needs an iPhone unlocked relates to executing a search warrant on a suspect indicted for possession of methamphetamine. Apple argues that decrypting a phone in one case would set a precedent that would only burden the company in the future, taxing its resources, employees, software, and equipment. “This burden,” Apple said, “increases as the number of government requests increases.”
The DOJ, of course, rejected this argument, saying that Apple shows no attempt to quantify the burden of which it speaks, nor does it show any evidence.
Apple also argues that aiding government requests for user data would hurt its reputation to the public due to the level to which sensitivity to digital privacy has risen. The company says that this harm to its reputation to could have a lasting economic impact. Earlier this week, Tim Cook spoke out against software backdoors, again voicing Apple’s support for privacy for its customers
As you would expect, the DOJ also rejects this argument, again saying Apple provided no concrete evidence to support its claims.
The government rejected this argument, saying that Apple offered no concrete evidence that reputational concerns constituted an “undue burden” as defined by law.
apple’can set it so users could erase their calls and there would be no way to get’that info back. regular phones dont record the conversations. course nsa has its hands up the ass of the phonecos. but still.
who says our private phones have to be able to be opened up to fedgov.
fuch fedgov. let them try to decrypt. theyve got the nsa “experts” and infinite resources. if he sold meth someone had to buy it. sheesh. cant even do actual real policework.
Good to know our lawmakers have such a firm grasp on mathematics.
Guys, AES-256 is currently unbreakable crypto. A brute force attack would require a globe-spanning array of ASICs or GPUs.
I assume it uses a well implemented high-entropy key gen function. This is not dependent on a user-picked password subject to being cracked by a rainbow table of popular passwords.
While they’re at it, can they pass a law to make pi=3.0
those darn irrational numbers are such a bother.
That is exactly what Apple has been telling the courts. . . That Apple does not have any backdoors nor do they have the means to get to any of the data in a passcode protected iOS 8 or later. Apple itself cannot access any of the user data in such devices. . . so how can they help the DOJ get access to the data? If they can't, neither can the DOJ. Even on iOS 7, Apple has only limited access to specific data with limited usefulness.
If an user were to select a 16 character complex passcode, which can use any of the 223 characters accessible from the alphanumeric/symbol keyboard, which will then be entangled with the 128 character UUID of the device to construct the actual key for the encryption. While it is not "impossible" to break into such an AES encryption by the only means possible without the key, brute force trial-and-error of every possible key, practically it is, because to try every possible key using the fastest super-computer available to us today, which is capable of attempting 3 Trillion keys a year, would only take a mere 5.62 undecillion years (5.62 X 10195 years) to try all possible keys. I think the DOJ would lose interest in a few million years, don't you?
They can't either. It's called the law of large numbers.
I'm not sure I understand that argument. Either the guy was in possession of the methamphetamine or he wasn't. They're not going to find any inside his phone.
BTW, if by unlocking the phone, they mean accessing its content, why can't they just cut off the guy's finger and unlock it with his fingerprint? I'm sure the importance of the case warrants an amputation.
Even AES-128 is pretty much unbreakable. . . our financial institutions use that. AES-256 is much harder. Even linking all those ASICs and GPUs together would not give you much advantage in breaking the encryption in enough time to do any good for useful real-time data.
Funny thing....I have absolutely nothing hidden in my iPhone 6, but I am loving Apple for standing their ground on this issue. This country no longer deserves the easy way on anything. This government has proven it can no longer be trusted on anything.
I thought Apple couldn't unlock a phone anymore, period. Why the equivocation? Is it actually possible?
Yeah I know.
I wonder if the ability to access backdoor could be added through some kind of stealth update?
Actually, I don't think that will work. The finger has to be attached to a living person. There are electrical signals that pass through the finger to the screen. That's how capacitive screens work.
"ENUF of this WHITE PRIVILEGE!
I want it, and YOU WILL
GIVE IT TO ME!
Oh, and Death to America!"
That's probably the only thing saving that poor bugger's finger.
I was told to use an alternative four-number combination, but maybe you can use more. Four numbers is only 10,000 possibilities. I don't know, maybe they're talking about something else.
The company also noted, however, that even if it were possible, it would not feel comfortable doing so as to not tarnish the trust it shares with its customers.And:
Apple argues that decrypting a phone in one case would set a precedent that would only burden the company in the future, taxing its resources, employees, software, and equipment. “This burden,” Apple said, “increases as the number of government requests increases.”And:
Apple shows no attempt to quantify the burden of which it speaks, nor does it show any evidence.
It seems to me that if Apple truly were using strong encryption, without any back doors, it's simply say so and that would be the end of it.
Apple also argues that aiding government requests for user data would hurt its reputation to the public due to the level to which sensitivity to digital privacy has risen.
All of which suggests that Apple could aid such government requests, but doesn't want to. Which would not be true if they were truly providing the level of security they've been promising to their customers.
The phone locks out if you put the wrong 4 digit code in more than a few times. I think it erases itself after 10 tries. And, you have an option to put in a code that is longer than 4 numerical digits. Drug dealers probably use this option.
And, I guess a hammer won't work either, eh? ;-)
Seems like I saw a show recently where they skinned a dead guy’s finger, wrapped it around a live guy’s finger and got in that way.
It’s was on TV. It must be true.
A dead finger won't work. It has to be a living finger. . . just as a photo print of a fingerprint doesn't work. . . so chopping a finger off won't work, nor will using your finger from someone's corpse doesn't work. Incidentally, it isn't reading your fingerprint, it's reading the subcutaneous ridges below the finger print ridges. In addition, after not being opened for 48 hours with a either a passcode or a finger, the phone requires it must be opened with a passcode and the "fingerprint" won't work anyway. Also, if the iPhone has been shut down at anytime, it must be re-opened only with the passcode.
I think the DOJ should shut up and prosecute the IRS and Hillary. Go after real criminals you corrupt bastards at the DOJ.
And, I don't suppose a hammer will work, either? ;-)
BTW, I saw a video of someone leaving the 6s underwater for like a half hour without causing it to malfunction. It seems that they're working on waterproofing the thing.
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