Apple Calls FBI Comments on Lack of Help Unlocking Florida Shooter's iPhone an 'Excuse to Weaken Encryption'

[lostngone]

Apple is wrong here and it's a bad look

Thankfully, many people will disagree with you...
The US government wouldn’t trust storing encryption keys of sensitive information on a server owned by the Chinese government so why should I trust the encryption keys for my phone to the US government?

 

[Wolfpup]

Yay Apple. One of the best reasons to buy their stuff.

 

[Digital Dude]

Based on Apple's response, you can't give what you don't have. The iCloud data is something they do have, and Apple complied. I can't understand the debate.

 

[lostngone]

Based on Apple's response, you can't give what you don't have. The iCloud data is something they do have, and Apple complied. I can't understand the debate.

Agreed however that isn’t the goal of the FBI in this article. I believe the goal here is to make Apple look like the bad guy and promote public pressure for Apple to put in back doors for them.

It is the whole “won’t you think about the children” or “Did you stop beating your wife” setup. Clearly Apple is supporting terrorists and child molesters by not allowing them access into these devices.

 

[DVD9]

A better question is did the FBI then notify Apple about this undocumented vulnerability it used to exploit the phone?

The answer to that is no. Our own government is hiding security vulnerabilities.

These "security vulnerabilities" always exist and it's been long and frequently documented that these known vulnerabilities often exist unfixed for many months. This is known as "plausible deniability".

How is it different if Apple creates a backdoor or sees to it that a new backdoor is always available? The later is better for Apple as they can claim that it was unintentional while publicly stating their commitment to their customers security.

Plausible Deniability

 

[IIGS User]

You got FBI in my Apple!

You got Apple in my FBI!

Grandstanding on both sides. FBI gets a warrant, Apple says they can't reverse the encryption.

Apple looks good because they stood up to THE MAN! Our encryption is SOLID!

FBI looks good. Hey, Apple said NO! And we did it anyway.

The FBI has been a PR machine since the Hoover days. Apple is a business. PR is part of their DNA. As it would be for any good business.

So one takes a swat at another, and the other takes a swat back. This is like watching my 2 cats sorta fight. It's entertaining, but in the end pointless.

And my professional opinion of the FBI (as someone who works in the business) is somewhere below the Sprewberry Police Department. Most of their personnel are rude, condescending, smug, manipulative, and no where near as well trained as they think they are. Maybe with the exception of the SWAT/Tac folks who are usually ex military SF operators.

 

[DVD9]

It's entertaining, but in the end pointless.

And my professional opinion of the FBI

Notice that the FBI always gains access to the disputed device.

Do a search for police agencies complaining about the unprosecuted terrorists, child predators and narco traffickers because they can't access Apple devices. Where are the crying mothers and angry fathers looking into the camera and exclaiming "Tim Cook, how could you!"

There would be hundreds of stories by now.

 

[skinned66]

And Apple is right.

 

[T-R-S]

If the Apple encryption was so weak why did it take the FBI 4 months to crack it. BTW Apple did give the FBI access to the iPhone cloud data after they got a court order order but Apple did not have nor do they have access to 3rd party data like WeChat and other 3rd party messaging apps. If apple had a back door for for Law Enforcement it would only be a matter of time before criminals would fugue that back door as well. Remember a lock only keeps an honest person out.
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Excellent statement by Apple. It’s crazy that the FBI would publicly say something so negative about Apple meanwhile Apple helps them in so many ways.

what happens in public is very different that what happens behind the scenes

 

[macsimcon]

Isn’t the NSA able to gather enough data on potential suspects through surveillance?

If so that would make any data stored on a personal device effectively redundant since they already monitor all network traffic, and they have the tools to decrypt said traffic if necessary.

Maybe these alphabet organizations need to learn how to work together.

That's not how it works. The NSA can't assist the FBI, or word would get out very quickly that NSA has a vulnerability for iOS. Protection of sources and methods is more important than cracking a single case.
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I understand Apple’s marketing position here, but it is only a matter of time before a country goes rogue on Apple and mandates a back door or decryption. The reality of it is that this is a losing battle in the long run for Apple somewhere in the world...whether that be in the USA or China. The battle has already been lost for warrant disclosure of iCloud data after all, local data is the next obvious step for warrants

Exactly. Once the U.S. government has a master decryption key, China and Russia will want one as well. Is the U.S. government going to be OK with China and Russia being able to decrypt all iPhone data? I think not. So, that means each country would need its own MDK, so each bit of data on an iPhone would have to be encrypted not only with the owner's key, but hundreds of other MDKs belonging to sovereign nations all over the world. Ridiculous.

And what happens when one of those Romanian or Bulgarian IT admins decides it's time to make a few million by selling their MDK to hackers, criminals, or corporations?

 

[lostngone]

These "security vulnerabilities" always exist and it's been long and frequently documented that these known vulnerabilities often exist unfixed for many months. This is known as "plausible deniability".

Correct BUT we are talking about our government here. If you listen to the propaganda we are supposed to be “the good guys“. By knowing withholding this information they are putting other people’s information and possibly lives at risk. Remember our own government uses iPhones to conduct its business.

 

[Shirasaki]

Is the U.S. government going to be OK with China and Russia being able to decrypt all iPhone data?

I find this kinda a “it depends” instead of a flat “no” and warrants a discussion on its own. If US government has no problem doing mass surveillance to their citizens, hostile country having access to citizens’ personal data might not be completely off the table.

This is the FBI which demands a backdoor back in 2013 after all.

 

[vvswarup]

Agreed however that isn’t the goal of the FBI in this article. I believe the goal here is to make Apple look like the bad guy and promote public pressure for Apple to put in back doors for them.

It is the whole “won’t you think about the children” or “Did you stop beating your wife” setup. Clearly Apple is supporting terrorists and child molesters by not allowing them access into these devices.

The FBI is definitely trying to play a PR game. That's been the government's game from day one. It's up to us if they succeed or not.

 

[Tech198]

I like how everyone steps on each other

If tables were turned and Apple wanted help from FBI (umm... wait a sec, that wound never happen)

This is just Apple's PR... Everyone has a right to say their reasons against a company..... if they choose,,, no huff Apple hates this only because it's the FBI,where as if I say it, Apple wouldn't care less.


That's power for ya.