Apple CEO Tim Cook: FBI's Backdoor Would Be 'Software Equivalent of Cancer'

[Billberryjuice]

Cancer, Tim? That's sooo 2014. Surely it should be:

FBI's Backdoor Would Be 'Software Equivalent of Sitting'

src: http://uk.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-sitting-is-the-new-cancer-2015-2

 

[FelixDerKater]

A private company is not a democracy.

If this were all based on polls we would have had two buttons on our mice a decade before it happened.

 

[pjh]

Cancer, Tim? That's sooo 2014. Surely it should be:

FBI's Backdoor Would Be 'Software Equivalent of Sitting'

src: http://uk.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-sitting-is-the-new-cancer-2015-2

Or


FBI's Backdoor Would Be 'Software Equivalent of Bacon'

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34615621

Mrhh, that doesn't really have the same ring to it.

 

[Datalinks]

Maybe if they repatriated some of their profits the US government would be more sympathetic towards them

 

[GenesisST]

Your passive aggressive homophobic comment is worse.

Gee, I wonder how your mood would be with Stage IV cancer...

 

[Gasu E.]

Hey Tim,

I have Stage IV Pancreatic cancer. Doubt it.

I agree. I'm with Tim on the main issue, but today he definitely needs a visit from the Metaphor Police.

 

[pwhitehead]

Tim Cook, you're the man! Security is #1!

 

[phillipduran]

How can anyone think that the answer to the problem of ending the use terrorism to establish an Islamic Caliphate lies on some a***ole thug's iPhone 5c? Seriously. The whole notion is so wildly ridiculous. You want to stop terrorism? Crush any and all hope these extremists have that they will ever achieve that goal. It would take two weeks for this nation to crush that pipsqueak ideology permanently, if only it would stand up for itself.

Some people shot some people in the name of an ideology which our leaders are not only not willing to crush, but some of whom are not even willing to acknowledge exists. The advocates of this ideology don't pay with their lives, but we all pay with our freedom and privacy. Let's drop the sideshow delusions...

Yup. We have the power to squash this quickly and completely, but it goes against Obama's view of the USA. In his eyes were a colonial power that needs to be brought down and rendered less powerful because he only sees us as abusive to the world. To send our forces out to influence other nations goes against his ideology. He cant use US power to fix problems, if he did, that would put us in a position of authority in the world and he doesn't want that. He wants us powerless to act or influence. He doesn't believe in our values.

 

[maxsix]

I understand you are close minded

Your imagination is wrong.

I'm not going to bother posting links to the articles in referencing. However, I'm sure whatever I posted you would just say something to discredit it.

Once again your wild imagination and propensity to assume is not serving you well.

Discrediting sources is a game the blind Apple Faithful play. I never discredit sources, that's a fact.

 

[RickInHouston]

I guess you didn't run this tagline through the proper apple marketing channels. Tim, your comment is really quite insensitive.

 

[phillipduran]

someone's been reading too many Steve Jobs biographies.
Hyperboles only work if theyre funny or actually related to some way to the issue at hand.
The FBI isn't asking for a 'master key'. They're asking apple for a lifeline as they try to brute force the passcode.
Not to break the encryption.
Nothing groundbreaking here.

I agree with Bill Gates on this - Apple should look to the supreme court for guidance. But a sideshow like this, in my opinion, is a bit over-dramatic and uncalled for.

People are increasingly scared of the US government and all of the three letter agencies. The BLM( land management), IRS, FBI, EPA etc. are getting more and more powerful and are being granted the authority to do as they wish. Seize lands, deny tax status etc. This sideshow represents the citizenry saying hey government, NO! You don't have this authority, you don't get everything. It's not our responsibility to become your software developer and break a very essential pillar of our products, which is security, to do your job for you. Making it public and putting it out there has created a massive swell of support for this stance. Governments are like big hungry beasts. Without controls or someone saying no, they will consume everything. Read about the founding of our government. It was one of the very present concerns when writing our laws.

 

[NewdestinyX]

So I still find myself confused on this... Forgive me - I'm too lazy to read all 200 posts so far.. so if this has already been answered earlier.. Just give me a post #..

But is Cook refusing to unlock this ONE PHONE so we can get info on these terrorist bastards? If so - then he's being stupid. Or is the issue that for the FBI to get at the data.. they'd need some 'global hack method' that could give the government access to ALL our phones. I have read conflicting data on this that still has me confused. We can't be so blind and afraid of surveillance to make up something the FBI isn't asking for. If they want access to this "ONE PHONE" - Cook should definitely unlock it or he's placing all Americans in danger.. BUT - if the ONLY way to give the FBI what they want will affect ALL of us - then I agree Cook shouldn't do it. And please don't give the 'slippery slope' analysis.. It's not about that at all..

 

[Radon87000]

Wow nice marketing stunt

 

[phillipduran]

Cook is plunging deeper into the delusion that Apple is above the government, common sense and the public good. It wont be long now and he will be history. I hope he wont take Apple with him.

Everyone is above the government when the make unlawful judgements. It's your duty as a citizen. Heck every jury is above the law and has the power to nullify any case before them if they find law is wrong or doesn't apply.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

After watching this interview, I'm more convinced than ever, that Apple is incapable of writing that "cancer" software and Cook is just trying to protect the corporation from public humiliation.

If that were the case then there would be no need for this circus. Apple would just come out and say "our encryption is so strong, so solid, that we couldn't break it even if we wanted to." As a marketing pitch, that would be the ultimate and enhance Apple's security imagine, not defame it. It would seem that isn't the case based on the MR article below this one stating Apple IS working on a truly unbreakable iOS. So if it was true that Apple couldn't backdoor the current iOS that would not humiliate Apple but just show the world how strong they built the OS. Remember, Apple designed iOS to be secure. This isn't a Black Hat talent contest to see who can hack the unhackable.

 

[lchlch]

Cook is plunging deeper into the delusion that Apple is above the government, common sense and the public good. It wont be long now and he will be history. I hope he wont take Apple with him.

Apple is not above the government. The right to privacy that they are protecting is.

 

[CEmajr]

So I still find myself confused on this... Forgive me - I'm too lazy to read all 200 posts so far.. so if this has already been answered earlier.. Just give me a post #..

But is Cook refusing to unlock this ONE PHONE so we can get info on these terrorist bast**ds? If so - then he's being stupid. Or is the issue that for the FBI to get at the data.. they'd need some 'global hack method' that could give the government access to ALL our phones. I have read conflicting data on this that still has me confused. We can't be so blind and afraid of surveillance to make up something the FBI isn't asking for. If they want access to this "ONE PHONE" - Cook should definitely unlock it or he's placing all Americans in danger.. BUT - if the ONLY way to give the FBI what they want will affect ALL of us - then I agree Cook shouldn't do it. And please don't give the 'slippery slope' analysis.. It's not about that at all..

They want Apple to remove the '10 attempts until self erase' as well as the delay that makes you wait between unsuccessful passcode attempts. This would allow them to brute force their way into the phone (use software that can try tons of different passcode combinations until the phone unlocks).

The problem is that doing so will require Apple to create a new iOS without those restrictions. Once that new iOS is created and in the hands of the tons of law enforcement agencies who want it, it's pretty much inevitable that criminals and hackers will eventually get their hands on it as well. Therefore allowing anyone to brute force their way into people's iPhones since there would be unlimited attempts. Just imagine any random criminal out there being able to steal your iPhone and run software that attempts to crack your passcode since he has unlimited tries until it unlocks. Exposing not only the large amount of financial data people have on their phones these days but also any other sensitive information which was supposed to be private.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Everyone is above the government when the make unlawful judgements. It's your duty as a citizen. Heck every jury is above the law and has the power to nullify any case before them if they find law is wrong or doesn't apply.

Being above the law is vigilantism and zealotry and distinctly anti-citizen. No one has the right or duty to take the law into their own hands. There are venues to settle disputes, be they political or judicially. Juries are tasked to judge innocent or guilt based on the law and facts presented. There is no difference between jury nullification and mob rule.

 

[tkatz]

So I still find myself confused on this... Forgive me - I'm too lazy to read all 200 posts so far.. so if this has already been answered earlier.. Just give me a post #..

But is Cook refusing to unlock this ONE PHONE so we can get info on these terrorist bast**ds? If so - then he's being stupid. Or is the issue that for the FBI to get at the data.. they'd need some 'global hack method' that could give the government access to ALL our phones. I have read conflicting data on this that still has me confused. We can't be so blind and afraid of surveillance to make up something the FBI isn't asking for. If they want access to this "ONE PHONE" - Cook should definitely unlock it or he's placing all Americans in danger.. BUT - if the ONLY way to give the FBI what they want will affect ALL of us - then I agree Cook shouldn't do it. And please don't give the 'slippery slope' analysis.. It's not about that at all..

Not sure at this point why its confusing. This has been stated many times before.

The FBI want Apple to create a version of iOS that can be loaded into the memory of the phone (ie like a ramdisk) that has the incrementing passcode lock timeout disabled (so it doesn't slow down after successive attempts), and without the 10 failed entry self destruct that wipes the key. They also want the ability to submit passcodes over usb/bluetooth so that they can automate it (and thus submit codes at full speed, 80ms per try). They claim that this can be written to only work with one phone, but anything that can work with one phone can work with all of them.

And it is a slippery slope, you can't ignore that. The DOJ has 12 other phones they want access too, and the NYC PD say they have 175. So this whole "just this one phone" is pretty tossed out the window. The phone in question is also a work phone. The guy destroyed their personal phones and hid his computers hard drive (not many seem to mention this for some strange reason). Most employers that provide hardware will have you sign something acknowledging that everything is monitored, so there's even a good chance there's nothing on it anyway (or wouldn't he have destroyed it as well?). It really does look like this is all about setting a precedent more then it is protecting us from terrorists.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Apple is not above the government. The right to privacy that they are protecting is.

Well its not really any right to privacy that they are protecting. The 4th amendment does allow for search and seizure with a warrant. The real case at hand here is whether the government can force a non-government entity to produce a way to gain entry into the property subject to the search warrant.

Apple has, in fact, given the FBI, all personal non-encrypted information it had on its iCloud server.

 

[NewdestinyX]

The DOJ has 12 other phones they want access too, and the NYC PD say they have 175. So this whole "just this one phone" is pretty tossed out the window. The phone in question is also a work phone. The guy destroyed their personal phones and hid his computers hard drive (not many seem to mention this for some strange reason). Most employers that provide hardware will have you sign something acknowledging that everything is monitored, so there's even a good chance there's nothing on it anyway (or wouldn't he have destroyed it as well?). It really does look like this is all about setting a precedent more then it is protecting us from terrorists.

IF that's the case.. (yet much of it still sounds like conspiracy theorist nonsense to me…) then I'd be against such a precedent too. Still so much plausible reporting out there that all they're asking for is access to the one phone and that it doesn't require an entire new iOS that could fall into the hands of hackers.

If there's no new iOS being asked for then Apple has to let them have access to the several phones of criminals. We must stay safe gang - or all these freedoms you're crying about won't be around anyway when we're under sharia law..

 

[BenTrovato]

I was impressed with the Tim Cook interview. He's right, they shouldn't write software that compromises security for us all. Once that backdoor is open, you can't close it. I'm surprised people don't take privacy more seriously.

 

[diegogaja]

Your imagination is wrong.

Once again your wild imagination and propensity to assume is not serving you well.

Discrediting sources is a game the blind Apple Faithful play. I never discredit sources, that's a fact.

LOL. I literally mirrored your post and told you exactly what you posted and I'M the one with an imagination? Hilarious.

 

[BaldiMac]

IF that's the case.. (yet much of it still sounds like conspiracy theorist nonsense to me…) then I'd be against such a precedent too. Still so much plausible reporting out there that all they're asking for is access to the one phone and that it doesn't require an entire new iOS that could fall into the hands of hackers.

So you think that the FBI's position is plausible even though the government has admitted that it's not true? Huh.

If there's no new iOS being asked for then Apple has to let them have access to the several phones of criminals. We must stay safe gang - or all these freedoms you're crying about won't be around anyway when we're under sharia law..

I'm not sure how undermining the constitution protects American ideals.

Perhaps dealing with the corruption of big money (particularly oil interests) in the government would go a long way towards dealing with the issues that beget terrorism.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Agree. Apple continues to use the straw man strategy. FBI isk asking to get into THAT phone, not every phone.

But what if the Straw Man lives in a Pandora's Box?

The atomic bomb was developed in secret and intended as a "last resort" to end WWII and secure peace for all time. It was not going to be shared, indeed the U.S. didn't even tell its war ally Stalin that the bomb existed. It was THAT secret. But a communist sympathizer, Klaus Fuchs, who worked on the bomb at Los Alamos and Julius Rosenberg fed info to the Soviets, and in 1949 they had the bomb too and the arc of history was forever changed.

Of course the bomb did end WWII and likely saved thousands if not hundreds of thousands of lives. That was the short term good. But it also led to the tyranny of the Cold War and then the much worse rogue states acquiring the technology, something that casts a giant shadow over the world 71 years later with proliferation and uncertain to grow. So we won the war but hardly secured much peace.

So sure, the FBI is asking "just this one phone," (though that isn't factually true even now,) but the long term effects are indeed not that simple. And the question really isn't should the FBI be able to search suspects phones w/ a warrant. That is settled and of course yes. The question is should the gov't be able to bully a citizen or private entity into producing something that does not already exist.