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Apple Confirms Some Encrypted iCloud User Data is Stored on Google Cloud Platform

RedGala said:
As long as Google can't freely run some machine learning analysis of our data, I'm fine. Apple is still building their new data center.
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Now that is the operative word I'd had like to read in this article ... "can't" access iCloud data in 3rd party storage.

DaveOP said:
You miss MobileMe? Did the iPhones that Steve pioneered not have Sony sensors? Didn't the Macbook Pro from his time have Samsung/LG screens?
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Nobody misses MobileMe except those that couldn't use the first part of that email address with @icloud.com ;)

I'm pretty sure that the iPhone 4/4S and 5 all used Sony CMOS sensors yet that's not hear nor there.

Ok Apple ... how is Siri's improvements coming along?
 
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Hey, it's us, Apple. Just trust us. I mean it's not like we've ever failed to be completely honest with our customer base. We're ALWAYS looking our for our consumers! Always! Well, there's that slow-down thing, and the lack of upgradability, and all of our talk about the importance of privacy while cow-towing to the Chinese Gov't...

But we're Apple. Trust us!
 
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So what's the point of this article beyond acting as a dog whistle for the most fervent worshipers to bleat using words like "betrayal?" Business is business. You avail yourselves of the products and services that help you serve your own customers. Full stop. Anything else is not acting in the best interests of those customers, or your shareholders.
 
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When I discovered iCloud was using AWS and such (a curious admin and tcpdump can learn a lot) my first thought was actually why Apple is investing so much into its own data centers if it's just going to use AWS and Google anyway.
 
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bopajuice said:
Cant make a decision about being happy or unhappy until things like this are disclosed.
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The fact that it is encrypted does not mean anything, it could just be encrypted with sha1 or something equally insecure, which can be broken in about 5 minutes on modern computers. Or Apple could have given Google the keys so they can make backups. Or Google just might be forwarding everything to the NSA which can break anything.

Hopefully Apple has done their due diligence, but nothing is guaranteed these days. Outsourcing iCloud storage decisions might be made by some junior manager that was told to get more storage at the cheapest cost.

And while it may be stored encrypted, who knows how it is being transferred. There are a lot of ways to make silly mistakes with data. Given that Apple has never had their A team on iCould, it would pay to be cautious, but not overly worried at this point. Google is highly deceitful, and smart and probably has a way to make it pay for them.
 
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BaltimoreMediaBlog said:
My only comment is it's a slippery slope as far as letting Google get their hands on ANYTHING. :(
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You do realize Google (like Amazon, like Microsoft) store thousands of petabytes of data for companies all over the world, almost none of whom have websites posting fevered updates about where that data is held? Your data is already at Google. and Amazon. and Microsoft. And probably a half-dozen cloud providers you've never even heard of. Your bank uses them. Your grocery store uses them. Your employer probably uses them, whether you know it or not.
 
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firewire9000 said:
Samsung manufacturing screens, iCloud stored in Google Services, camera sensors from Sony... what’s next, Microsoft Stores selling iPhone? Jobs we miss you.
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Why? This is like saying Leonardo da Vinci was rubbish because he didn't produce his own paint and make his own canvasses.

Apple design and create products and services from what is available to them.
 
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zorinlynx said:
When I discovered iCloud was using AWS and such (a curious admin and tcpdump can learn a lot) my first thought was actually why Apple is investing so much into its own data centers if it's just going to use AWS and Google anyway.
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It's the other way around. They are building data centers to stop using AWS, Azure and GCP.

Currently they hace no data centers in Europe, but three is on the way.
 
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I'm not surprised.

Apple relied on Amazon AWS since the days of iPhoto if not before. I clearly remember that one day I monitored my network activity and discovered that iPhoto was uploading my photos to an Amazon server. I wasn't shocked – somehow amused.

Managing the complexity of network services offered by big companies like Apple isn't easy. It's understandable that they choose third party services.

I've learned that all the rivalries between the tech giants are in reality far less emphasized than people are used to believe. At that level it's reasonable to keep good relations and fair play after all. The same probably apply to other fields too.

Edit: typo.
 
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DeepIn2U said:
Ok Apple ... how is Siri's improvements coming along?
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Pretty well for me. She controls all my smart home stuff, even when away from home. She plays Apple Music quite accurately on my Homepod. She listens on my Watch, giving me the weather and activity info. I have no complaints, she's far more natural than Alexa was, and understands me better than the Google Home's I got rid of.
 
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cateye said:
You do realize Google (like Amazon, like Microsoft) store thousands of petabytes of data for companies all over the world, almost none of whom have websites posting fevered updates about where that data is held? Your data is already at Google. and Amazon. and Microsoft. And probably a half-dozen cloud providers you've never even heard of. Your bank uses them. Your grocery store uses them. Your employer probably uses them, whether you know it or not.
Click to expand...

Having been part of some of these decisions on cloud data with large companies, I can say that almost always, outside of customer credit card info, the company doing the outsourcing does not care one bit about the security of their customer data. The decision is made on cost, then sometimes availability and reliability, but I've never heard of privacy being considered.

In fact, I'll bet the outsourcing agreement allows all of the outsource providers (Google, Amazon, Microsoft) complete access to the data for internal use. Now if it is encrypted, that makes it harder to use, but not impossible. It depends on the metadata stored along side the data.
 
firewire9000 said:
Samsung manufacturing screens, iCloud stored in Google Services, camera sensors from Sony... what’s next, Microsoft Stores selling iPhone? Jobs we miss you.
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Do you really believe that when Apple was under SJ, Apple manufactured its own LCD screens and other electronic components?
 
johnnygee said:
Has Apple ever manufactured it's own screens?
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No. They’ve invested in screen manufacturers so they don’t have to make them themselves. As far back as 1997, Apple invested $150M in Samsung in order to get better rates on LCD displays.
 
firewire9000 said:
Samsung manufacturing screens, iCloud stored in Google Services, camera sensors from Sony... what’s next, Microsoft Stores selling iPhone? Jobs we miss you.
Click to expand...

GOD WHAT NEXT, Intel making processors for the Mac?!?!?!?!? Jobs we miss you-Oh wait...

OMG Toshiba making iPod Hard Drives?!?! Jobs we miss you-Oh wait...

SAMSUNG making iPhone 3G processors?!?!?! Jobs we miss you-Oh wait...

STOP THE PRESSES! Corning is manufacturing the glass for the iPhone screen?!?!?! Jobs we miss you-Oh wait...

Apple doesn't produce their own materials, they manufacture them all together in third party plants. Do you think Apple sends out Jonny Ive to harvest the aluminum for the MacBooks, Eddy Cue is out cutting the glass for iPhone and iPad screens? Apple oversees third party suppliers and manufacturers them in third party plants. They have always done this, even in the 2nd Jobs-era. They aren't Tesla, they don't have a
Gigafactory. Why is this bad, and how would this be different if Jobs was around?
 
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