Posted on 02/25/2016 8:10:06 AM PST by Kaslin
I'm shocked that so many Americans are ignorantly willing to empower this federal government to create a master key to our smartphones. The majority of Americans in a Pew Research poll said they agree with the government that Apple should unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino terrorist-shooter (Syed Rizwan Farook).
My theory on this is that most people have no idea what the actual question is or what is involved in unlocking this phone. The Pew question is "Should Apple unlock the terrorist's iPhone?" Here's what the question should be: "Do you think Apple should be forced to create a software patch for the iPhone ios (that does not presently exist) in order to assist the government into hacking the terrorist-shooter's iPhone?" I suspect the answer to that question would be an overwhelming "no."
This is not as simple as 'unlocking' an iPhone. Apple created the encryption process specifically so user-data could not be accessed once the phone was locked - not even by Apple. Once your four-digit code is entered into the iPhone 5 or greater, the stored private data is encrypted by a random algorithm. While Apple created the algorithm, they did not create software (a master key) to decrypt the data. It's a brilliant security feature and since no decryption exists, it makes your phone-data as safe as possible.
Therefore, what the government is asking Apple to do is create a software patch (that doesn't exist) to unlock the iPhone without triggering it's 'erase all data" anti-hacking (theft) features. This is new software and anyone who states otherwise, is lying or misinformed. This is unprecedented via court-order. Further, it is a display of just how ignorant (perhaps arrogant) our country has become.
Apple does not possess Farook's data such as a phone company would possess his calling and text records. The data is on a device that Apple sold. This would be akin to asking Samsung to create a software program to tell the government what television programs you've been watching. In that scenario, why not just ask Comcast, right? A similar parallel exists in the Apple case as well. I'll come back to that.
We wade into topics with strong opinions, as a nation of people, for which we know little about and set forth action plans that are very dangerous for millions of people. The truth is that creating this 'master key' is likely more dangerous to 94 million iPhone users in the United States than the value of the data we may find on Farook's iPhone. Once there is a 'master key' it can be leaked or hacked and fall into the wrong hands exposing millions of Americans to data and identity theft. If you don't think it's possible for such top-secret data to be released, might I remind you of Edward Snowden who revealed the government's top-secret spying program on American citizens and foreign leaders?
But, wait, there's more! On top of this ridiculous demand by our government to Apple, the phone in question was owned by San Bernardino County, California. Why would a government body ever give an employee a phone for which they do not have master-access? If that is not a possible feature with iPhone then they should be using a device that allows such control.
Further, this phone must have an iTunes or iCloud account. I'm curious as to what is available on this actual device that couldn't be reconstructed on one or both of those Apple controlled accounts (where Apple does possess data on their actual servers). Through iTunes they could certainly determine what apps (email or communications programs) Farook was using. Then, the government could subpoena the records of each app developers' servers to reconstruct the data. Those communications went through some server, in some location. There might be a tranche of data if an iCloud account exists of photos, locations, even people.
And, why can't they gather the text, cell tower location and phone call records of Farook's phone to determine with who, what and when he was interacting? Well, that wouldn't give our government the master key to search nearly 100 million Americans' phones without a warrant now would it?
So if the government wants to avoid being put into this situation again, they need to grow a brain and stop giving employees unfettered access and usage of government equipment without the proper security and control measures in place. And, personally, I feel just a little bit safer knowing that there is no way to access my phone's data while it is locked. You should too!
Thanks, will go read.
Get ready to get exposed to both sides of this issue and some sides not mentioned elsewhere.
What is on the killer’s phone that is not available from provider’s phone records (numbers, time duration), GPS tracking records (location over time), emails (archiving) from internet providers???? NSA is supposed track terrorists!?!
All that can be acquired without having the physical phone.
It all looks like another version of going after the gun ban after random killing.
What is left of citizen’s privacy ???
You already pay for your phone that gives the almighty government free access to your private activity.
Yeah, freedom for terrorists, spying on citizens!
> I’m shocked that so many Americans are ignorantly willing to empower this federal government to create a master key to our smartphones.
The article begins with a lie.
Just because, you or I won’t doesn’t mean others don’t
The FBI has requested ( https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2714001/SB-Shooter-Order-Compelling-Apple-Asst-iPhone.pdf ):
* bypass or disable the auto-erase function
* enable the FBI to submit passcode via the physical device port, bluetooth, wi-fi, or othe rprotocol available on the SUBJECT DEVICE
* software running on the device will not purposefully introduce any additional delay between passcode attempts
None of these are “master keys” or “backdoors”. The delay between retry attempts is a feature designed to annoy. Disabling the auto-erase function does not weaken encryption or require disclosure of any encryption keys, neither does removing the retry delay.
“It’s war. You don’t let the enemy have a weapons/comms system that you can’t attack.”
By this logic, the American people (the primary consumers of iphones) must be the enemy.
“Disabling the auto-erase function does not weaken encryption or require disclosure of any encryption keys, neither does removing the retry delay.”
Surely you know that both of those features are designed to thwart brute force decryption techniques, and that removing them essentially hobbles the encryption by making it vulnerable to attack.
I don’t care if they waterboard Tim Cook - unlock the damn phone!
Please: forget for a moment that Cook is a liberal gay man.
Put that aside.
Also understand you cannot unlock one of these phones in isolation. To do so, you have to give the keys to the kingdom - all Apple phones.
Is that still ok to you?
What will the black box building in Utah do with that?
Will it stop there or will T-Mobil, AT&T, Verizon have to give up their Droid password entry mechanisms/heuristics/algorithms?
Is it still ok?
“If such is the case, then how can the FBI be trusted to keep an Apple key for the iPhone secure?”
They can’t. The US government is lagging behind when it comes to cybersecurity, it has been for decades now.
One example of why... say you are a 15 year old whiz kid hacker and you break into your government’s secured servers. If you were in China or Russia, you would immediately be hired to work from the government, to direct your talents at the nation’s enemies. In America, we charge the kid with a crime and try to make him not touch a computer until he is 21.
Of course, the end result is that any serious, organized badguys who aren’t already using encryption or other secure means of communication will start doing so. So the FBI will be frozen out of those channels.
But they’ll have the tools to unlock the phones of any petty drug dealer, right-wing extremist or militia member, and they’ll be asking for hundreds of phones to be unlocked. This is the big prize for them, not the people in San Bernadino. They’re just a convenient excuse.
I’m surprised so many people don’t understand this.
So, if we were at war with Russia and Colt developed a new weapon for them, you’d be okay with that? Me...I’d have them drawn and quartered in the public square.
Apple has created the commo system for world wide terrorism, and somehow people think apple should NOT be the target of the military and the intelligence services. Amazingly stupid when you are at war not to go after the enemy’s communication system.
Those more interested in convenience and less interested in security can lock their Iphone with a four digit code. If one is more interested in security, one can choose a code or phrase with many more possible permutations. The delay (and I am assuming it still applies) is more than just an annoyance. It makes it impractical to break into the phone using brute force during the lifetime of the owner.
What is really scary re your comments is the timing.
Who is Potus and who is his AG?
Apple did not create secure Iphones for our enemies. They created them for use by free people everywhere.
The technology of encryption was not created by Apple. Nothing Apple does or does not do will in any way affect what our enemies will be able to do with this technology.
The only thing that would stop China, or South Korea, or any other nation from creating a secure phone using known technology would be a government prohibition.
China would not do so because they fear their own people more than any external enemy. South Korea might hesitate to do it because of the threat of sanctions from our government.
Somebody will do it. Americans will own it unless prohibited by their own government. Do you support an international treaty outlawing secure encrypted communications?
You cannot put this genie back into the bottle.
Absolutely irrelevant if the terrorists are using them as part of their comms network. As president in wartime, I’d already have infiltrated apple and stolen their damn key. Period. Screw them. You don’t give safe commo to the enemy. I can’t believe people are this stupidm
And therein lies the rub. Apple does not HAVE a way to get in. The government is trying to force them to CREATE a way to get in that does not yet exist.
And there is substantial doubt that this is an "extreme case". The two terrorists had two other phones as well as computers, which were all destroyed by them before they went on their killing spree. So how likely do you think it is that they just happened to have critical intelligence on a work phone (which they should have assumed could possibly have accessed by the employer) and neglected to destroy that device as well?
Do you think that the "key" is some lengthy encryption code that exists somewhere in a safe in Steve Job's old office?
Isn't it the case that the FBI is expecting Apple engineers to create software that can work around the various hardware and software security features of the Iphone? These features were designed intentionally to make hacking difficult if not actually impossible.
Is it you opinion that the government should prohibit the making of an unhackable Iphone?
It’s my position that we’re at war.
Does everyone really believe Apple DIDN’T give the government access?
The rest is theatre.
You all here want the NADA that took your rights.
STOP...for real...this is what you wanted.
So...we might “feel” safe or something.
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