Apple and FBI to Testify at Congressional Hearing on Encryption Next Week

[MacRumors]

Apple's legal chief Bruce Sewell and FBI Director James Comey will both testify at a U.S. congressional hearing on encryption issues planned for March 1, the House Judiciary Committee announced today.

Comey will participate in the first panel, while Sewell will testify in the second panel alongside Worcester Polytechnic Institute professor Susan Landau and New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance. Vance last week said his office was in possession of 175 iPhones that can't be accessed due to encryption. "This has become the Wild West in technology," he said. "Apple and Google are their own sheriffs and there are no rules."

The congressional hearing, titled "The Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans' Security and Privacy" will examine encryption technology and its impact on American citizens and lawmakers with the goal of finding a solution that lets law enforcement do their jobs without affecting the privacy protections of U.S. citizens.

"The widespread use of strong encryption has implications both for Americans' privacy and security. As technology companies have made great strides to enhance the security of Americans' personal and private information, law enforcement agencies face new challenges when attempting to access encrypted information. Americans have a right to strong privacy protections and Congress should fully examine the issue to be sure those are in place while finding ways to help law enforcement fight crime and keep us safe.

Head Apple lawyer Bruce Sewell is leading Apple's legal team in its fight against the FBI. Apple plans to oppose an order that would require it to help the FBI brute force the passcode on San Bernardino shooter Farook Syed's iPhone. The FBI is demanding Apple create a software that would both disable passcode security features and allow passcodes to be entered electronically.

In an interview yesterday, Tim Cook said that the FBI was asking Apple to build the "software equivalent of cancer," something the company won't do. While Apple has announced its intentions to fight the order, its official appeal is due tomorrow.

Update: In related news, Microsoft today announced its full support of Apple's decision to stand against the FBI. Next week, Microsoft plans to file an amicus brief to back the company. Verizon has also come out in support of Apple. "We support the availability of strong encryption with no backdoors," Verizon CEO and chairman Lowell McAdam said in a statement.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple and FBI to Testify at Congressional Hearing on Encryption Next Week

 

[Crosscreek]

I think CSI Cyber could crack that iPhone. They should give them a call.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I hope this ends up being productive, but I kind of doubt it will be. We have some pretty dense lawmakers.

 

[logicstudiouser]

We need an NRA equivalent for the 4th amendment!

 

[dannyyankou]

We need an NRA equivalent for the 4th amendment!

I think there's already protections to privacy in the Constitution. Wonder what would happen if it were brought to the Supreme Court.

 

[bdkennedy1]

Remember that Microsoft software from like 10 years ago that let's the FBI hack into any computer? Then a hacker stole it and it got passed around on torrent sites? Yeah, it's like that.

Google Microsoft Windows back door and look at all of the hits that come up. And people wonder why Windows needs anti-virus software.

 

[Norbs12]

I hope this ends up being productive, but I kind of doubt it will be. We have some pretty dense lawmakers.

You did see the part where it said "congressional", you know the same group that decided to shut down the government when things didn't go their way.

 

[SeattleMoose]

I hope that our REPRESENTATIVES do just that. Represent us and our privacy concerns against the alphabet soup mafia. Keep track of the congressmen who are obvious shills of this power grab and vote them out.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I think CSI Cyber could crack that iPhone. They should give them a call.

Pfft. CSI Cyber! Nubes compared to the computer specialists at CSI LA. Why I've seen them crack encryption with just couple of seemingly random key strokes.

You did see the part where it said "congressional", you know the same group that decided to shut down the government when things didn't go their way.

A) it's not the same group. The class of 2004 is long gone. But more relevant B) if you think this is a partisan issue then you better look to the WH because Obama just had a big pow wow with Silicon Valley CEOs trying to twist their arms to build in a backdoor. IF Congress passed an anti-encryption act bet your bottom dollar Obama would sign it.
[doublepost=1456427931][/doublepost]

We need an NRA equivalent for the 4th amendment!

There is. It's called the ACLU. There is also EFF when it comes to the digital world.

 

[d0minick]

I hope he is a good orater. facts do not matter. its all about analogies who makes makes common sense.

 

[npmacuser5]

I think there's already protections to privacy in the Constitution. Wonder what would happen if it were brought to the Supreme Court.

I think he means a radical organization like the NRA to lobby support for the 4th amendment.

 

[dannyyankou]

I think he means a radical organization like the NRA to lobby support for the 4th amendment.

Oh right, my bad. Very tired, reading comprehension hasn't been too nice to me today haha.

 

[Chatter]

This will be about who can scare the people more.

FBI: Terrrrrorrrrrists are coming to keeeeel you and we need backdoors to find them.
Apple: Terrrrrorrrrrists are coming to keeeeel you once they find FBI backdoors to track you.
FBI: shut up
Apple: No you shut up.
FBI: I said it first
Apple: We said it to infinity

 

[thekeyring]

175 iPhones?! So Apple were right, this wouldn't be a one off rogue version of iOS that was used on one phone.

 

[SeattleMoose]

Sometimes I don't wake up until the coffee kicks in. I have the solution. Offer two versions of every iPhone!!! One for terrorists with the backdoor and one for the rest of us. Think Different!!!

P.S. You will have to present your Terrorist affiliation card at checkout. Sheesh, maybe I should run for congress.

 

[\-V-/]

175 iPhones?! So Apple were right, this wouldn't be a one off rogue version of iOS that was used on one phone.

First it was 1 ... then 12 ... now 175. The FBI are looking like a bunch of ass hats right now ... not that they weren't before ... but this is ridiculous.

 

[CalWizrd]

Sometimes I don't wake up until the coffee kicks in. I have the solution. Offer two versions of every iPhone!!! One for terrorists with the backdoor and one for the rest of us. Think Different!!!

P.S. You will have to present your Terrorist affiliation card at checkout.

Reverse label them.

 

[Boatboy24]

First it was 1 ... then 12 ... now 175. The FBI are looking like a bunch of ass hats right now ... not that they weren't before ... but this is ridiculous.

That's 175 just in the possession of the NY DA's office. What about the rest of the country? Between DA's, Police, Sheriff, FBI, etc, there are probably thousands.

 

[Thunderhawks]

That's 175 just in the possession of the NY DA's office. What about the rest of the country? Between DA's, Police, Sheriff, FBI, etc, there are probably thousands.

Most of them, with nothing that helps on it.

 

[macintologist]

Tim should have gone.

 

[garirry]

FBI: just oooone phone pleease
FBI: Just 12 phones, come one, that's not a lot
FBI: Really? Is 175 phones that big of a concern to you?
FBI: Wow, this country is a bunch of terrorists, not letting us unluck 1,920 phones.
FBI: Dude, 20,000 phones? That's like nothing.
FBI: 240,000 phones we have to unlock, and Apple won't even let us unlock one? Those terrorists.
FBI: 2.8 million phones from innocent pe- I mean terrorists we have to fix. This country truly is corrupted. DONALD TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT 2016!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN AND BOYCOTT APPLE!!!

 

[the-oz-man]

This remains the single best point of logic I've read on MacRumor in many a year.

If I was a defense attorney representing a person accused of wrongdoing, and this type of "back door" iPhone data was being used by the prosecutor, I would ask in discovery for a detailed, exacting description of how The information was obtained by Apple. I would probably want to do a discovery deposition of each of the technicians that were involved in crafting the software that unlocked the phone. I would probably also want them to produce the code to have my own forensic experts examine it. The cat is out of the bag then

 

[\-V-/]

That's 175 just in the possession of the NY DA's office. What about the rest of the country? Between DA's, Police, Sheriff, FBI, etc, there are probably thousands.

And the rest of the half billion iPhone owners across the world too.

 

[pat500000]

I can see "ISIS" written over that FBI director's head.

 

[phillipduran]

Wrong Vance. This is not the wild west. You have no authority that isn't specifically granted to you but you think you should have free reign to do anything. If you haven't been given authority by the law to demand that companies go to work to do your job, then you don't have the authority and those companies can say NO.

You're darn right encryption has widespread implications. Just like freedom of speech, press, travel, cash money, assembly, religion, protesting . . . I don't want a lock down society where we have to ask permission and show papers while the all seeing eye of the government is watching. You're just going to have to catch bad guys using other methods. Were not giving up our quiet private space, so you can catch a few bad guys. If there are consequences, fine, I promise to not blame you for any future attacks because you can't crack encryption.