Posted on 11/03/2015 3:25:33 PM PST by Swordmaker
The government demands back-door access to Apple's mobile devices. But the company says it can't -- and won't -- do it.
You know the scenario if you've watched 24 or similar TV shows and movies. A bad guy has a nuclear bomb or other instrument of terror that will go off, and the only way to stop it is to decrypt information stored on a mobile device or phone. Without the ability to break that encryption quickly, lots of people will die.
Thank goodness, in the context of the show, a wily government hacker or a subverted black-hat ne'er-do-well can punch keys and get the data. (Sometimes, torture is involved, which Amnesty International would remind us is both against international law and doesn't help acquire useful operational information.)
In reality, governments use a variety of means -- sometimes de facto or later found to be illegal or unconstitutional in the country in which it's occurring -- to extract the passwords, encryption keys, and other data they need. (So do criminals worldwide, although their actions are nearly uniformly against the law.)
This narrative is required to justify the erosion of privacy in the name of fighting terror and finding justice. And government officials, whether in democracies or not, perpetuate it. Some seem to truly believe it, even though the number of cases in which it's proven true is somewhere approaching zero.
(Excerpt) Read more at macworld.com ...
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Internet firms to be banned from offering unbreakable encryption under new laws
My goal is to be the last person on this planet that does not have a cell phone.
This is an excellent article, and we should be thankful that Apple has chosen to protect us from our government’s intrusion and the intrusion of all other governments and evildoers as well!
“Here’s another thread on a law being proposed in the UK on this issue:”
Eff the UK and all those Neanderthals there who can look through a keyhole with both eyes at the same time! The UK has sunk so low that you almost have to consider them a state sponsor of terrorism!
Since we can’t trust the government, it’s better if they don’t get that capability.
“Apple can’t decrypt your iPhone: Why it matters “
Of course they can. If they couldn’t do it, they would have told the judge that, and avoided the expensive legal battle. Instead, they said they wouldn’t do it (in that case).
More on the case- they thought the guilty plea would get them off the hook. It hasn’t, yet:
Feds still want Apple to unlock iPhone even after guilty plea
http://www.slashgear.com/feds-still-want-apple-to-unlock-iphone-even-after-guilty-plea-02412475/
No, you are wrong about what Apple told the judge.
Apple actually told the judge that they could not unlock or decipher the more than 90% of iOS devices that are currently using iOS 8 and iOS 9, but they can unlock the less than 10% of iOS devices that are still using iOS 7 or lower. That is not the same as saying "of course they can unlock all iOS devices," as you claim.
They did say that they would not unlock the older devices (which this case did involve) because that would make a differentiation between Apple customers who had opted not to upgrade to the newer iOS. It would also set a bad precedent that the government could require a third party to expend time and money to serve the government's interests, when the government had not shown there was anything on the device of probative value, and they were merely wanting to go on a fishing expedition.
New iPhone is hacked: Anonymous researchers win $1 million challenge to crack the security of Apple’s latest iOS
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3301691/New-iPhone-hacked-Unknown-researcher-awarded-1m-jail-breaking-latest-iOS.html
“My goal is to be the last person on this planet that does not have a cell phone.”
You may already be.
Apple might have just scored some points with users but might have also further cemented the government's stance against encrypted devices. Responding to a Brooklyn federal judge's request for input, Apple revealed that it is impossible for it to unlock an iPhone or an iPad running iOS 8 or later due to stronger encryption methods. That said, it does admit that it can technically unlock devices running an older version, including the one involved in a current court proceeding, but advises the judge not to open that can of worms. SOURCE
The judge is "puzzled" by the DOJ continuing with its demands because the case is essentially over. They no longer have any standing to demand discovery for evidence. The defendant has pled guilty to a lesser charge and they cannot go beck for more. The case just has sentencing left and there is nothing that the data on the phone can provide for that. The evidence is now moot. They have already failed in their first attempt to get what they wanted, now they want to get a precedent with even less valid reasons? Doubt this judge will let them go anywhere. They simply don't have any standing any more.
{”My goal is to be the last person on this planet that does not have a cell phone.”}
Since they have eliminated almost all pay phones, don’t know how you do it.
The cell phone is convenient and a safety measure.
I’m usually the last one on my block to buy into new technology, but was the first on board with a car phone back in the day.
This is merely a means of JAILBREAKING iOS 9. . . it is NOT a means of cracking the encryption, PAR35. It still requires either participation of the user, either deliberate or through social engineering to get the user to navigate an already unlocked iPhone or iPad to a malicious website using either a Safari or Chrome browser. It does NOT allow someone who does not already have access to an iPhone or iPad to break into the device. That remains impossible. . . nor will it decrypt the devices' encryption. This vulnerability and exploit will be closed very quickly, as all such vulnerabilities have in the past.
You think you are telling me something I didn't already know? I posted this earlier today:
New iPhone is hacked: Anonymous researchers win $1 million challenge
Any idea what the case itself was?
Disregard, looks like a gambling case. Amazing if that all this is about.
Apple was smart to put in a hands off decryption that they cannot break. Its a free market and there is a demand for this. The Feds wanting the ability to decrypt any device or system here is another matter that right now I do not agree with.
Actually the NSA has some supercomputers that I believe can break any decryption. Its just that it takes time and hogs the computer and they want it to be easier.
An interesting case would be a top level criminal or terrorist who uses all non-decryptable Apple devices to communicate with his underlings. Would and could the Federales try to bully, shame, legislate against Apple into dropping their decryption policies?
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