Same concept as iTunes. Windows still uses iTunes for backing up and so do older versions of macOS.
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Apple Reportedly Dropped Plans for End-to-End Encrypted iCloud Backups After FBI Objected
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There are few providers that can store contacts E2E encrypted (Protonmail is one of them). There are several email providers that store the mails E2E encrypted (Protonmail, mailbox.org, Tutanota and others). Coincidentally (?) most are based outside the US, probably because of the trouble Lavabit got into during the Snowden affair. However, the caveat here is that few people send (or are set up to receive) encrypted emails, so they can usually be captured in transit before the provider encrypts them for storage in your mailbox.
If you use iCloud backup, mails stored on your device in the clear are accessible to anyone who can get their hands on the backup. Same for contacts, even if you don't use iCloud to sync them.
iMessages, FaceTime, Health Data, Home Data, iCloud Keychain, WiFi Password, Siri, Payment Information, Quicktype Keyboard and Screen Time.
You can pre-encrypt files and store those in iCloud. Then only you hold the keys. Disk Utility lets you create encrypted disk images, which are virtual disks, stored as a single file, but when opened they appear to be a disk on your computer. The container file itself can be encrypted with a password of your choosing.
So many people are mis-reading this article as "no encryption", but that could not be further from the truth. There is encryption during transport, at-rest, and you have easy access to tools right now that let you "wrap" your sensitive files in an encrypted container and store those in the cloud.
At the end of the day, all that matter is — who holds the keys?
Im really confused as to what is and is not encrypted. According to this iCloud is encrypted so how is anyone getting into these iCloud backups? Can someone please explain
support.apple.com
iCloud data security overview - Apple Support
iCloud uses strong security methods, employs strict policies to protect your information, and leads the industry in using privacy-preserving security technologies like end-to-end encryption for your data.
Yes, I do believe this was a big factor. Users can't be trusted, just like drivers on the road can't be trusted. In the end, there would be a LOT of angry Apple customers when they failed to keep track of their own keys/passwords. And they would blame Apple.
Apple encrypts all data in transit (i.e. while they are being transmitted over the network) and at rest (i.e. while they are stored in data centers). This provides protection from network captures in transit and unauthorized access within the data centers. But for data that aren't also E2E encrypted, they possess the decryption keys and can thus produce the clear text data on request.
Yeah, point is that the capability to local backup didn't go away with iTunes on MacOS.
Let’s get some things straight. Apple is practically one of the only major tech companies taking a stand against the FBI over encryption and privacy. And Apple deserves a lot of credit for what they’ve done.
Secondly, think about what would happen in Washington if the FBI lost access to ALL iPhone data. We would almost certainly see legislation forcing back doors or banning consumer encryption altogether.
My guess is Apple is leaving this one thing as a carrot to dangle, just so they can say that they ARE providing the FBI with data when given a lawful warrant. If they eliminate all possibility of providing the FBI with ANY data when requested lawfully, then that would really stir up a **** storm that would probably end in a way none of us want. This allows them to satisfy government requests, without severely compromising the security of iOS or macOS.
I’m sure Apple thinks long and hard about these issues. No matter how much you want to dump all over Tim Cook.
Secondly, think about what would happen in Washington if the FBI lost access to ALL iPhone data. We would almost certainly see legislation forcing back doors or banning consumer encryption altogether.
My guess is Apple is leaving this one thing as a carrot to dangle, just so they can say that they ARE providing the FBI with data when given a lawful warrant. If they eliminate all possibility of providing the FBI with ANY data when requested lawfully, then that would really stir up a **** storm that would probably end in a way none of us want. This allows them to satisfy government requests, without severely compromising the security of iOS or macOS.
I’m sure Apple thinks long and hard about these issues. No matter how much you want to dump all over Tim Cook.
I thought iCloud was encrypted. Does this mean that my messages are exposed if I or the person i'm talking to backs their messages up to iCloud?
Yes, it's called iTunes. There is a wifi sync option in iTunes (which historically was not reliable)
Depends. If the recipient has only activated iCloud syncing of their messages, the messages stay encrypted with a key that only the recipient has. If they have also enabled iCloud Backup, however, that key is uploaded to the cloud together with all the other device content, which means now Apple can decrypt the messages. So as long as iCloud Backup is not used, the messages are safe.
Not enabling end to end iCloud encryption is completely different to building a backdoor into the iPhone. I'm fine with this. There is very little practical downside to 99.99% of users.
Those against this only have rhetorics to argue with. With the cost of making it way harder for law enforcement to do their jobs.
Those against this only have rhetorics to argue with. With the cost of making it way harder for law enforcement to do their jobs.
The point is that while it is encrypted with Apple's keys, that means that it is accessible to anyone who has access to those keys.
Those keys may be hacked, they could be stolen, they could be sold by a rogue employee, they could have been generated incorrectly using a non-random process or become accessible in any number of ways. Once Apple's encryption keys are compromised EVERYTHING that was encrypted with those becomes accessible to anyone who has access to those keys.
They are a huge target for anyone who wants access to a ton of encrypted information because they compromise everything encrypted with them. If one was using on device end to end encrypted, compromising one key would compromise one set of backups, not billions of backups.
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Im really confused as to what is and is not encrypted. According to this iCloud is encrypted so how is anyone getting into these iCloud backups? Can someone please explain
iCloud data security overview - Apple Support
iCloud uses strong security methods, employs strict policies to protect your information, and leads the industry in using privacy-preserving security technologies like end-to-end encryption for your data.
The question is twofold:
1. What precisely is encrypted?
and
2. Who holds the keys to that encrypted information?
What you quote above is encrypted, but with Apple's key. Your phone is encrypted with an on device key. So if someone compromises Apple's key, everyone is compromised vs if each device backup uses its own key to encrypt the information, cracking a key on your iPhone only makes that single phone vulnerable, not everyone's.
Think about this though: Imagine you are one of several thousand Apple employees who has access to the keys. Might one of these people sell out for $50 million into a non-US bank account? Or might someone attempt to infiltrate Apple to get access to the keys? Or someone screws up and clicks on a phishing link and the keys are stolen? Or the key generation was compromised so that the key may seem random, but isn't? Or that the host is compromised (e.g. see the Intel/AMD bugs or kernel bugs)? There are many attack vectors and eventually one will be successful which puts everyone at risk.
Being able to compromise every Apple device iCloud backup is a huge prize, particularly since many iCloud services are hosted at Azure or AWS or somewhere else where employees there may have access to the encrypted backups.
Whether you have anything to hide or not, privacy is an important component of liberty. I don't think I have anything to hide, but I also don't have a camera installed in the bathroom or bedroom of the house. Likewise, I don't post every detail of my financial life etc online.
The practical downside of this is that with billions of backups (how many per device?) the incentive to obtain the keys to access that information is huge and eventually it will happen. It is solely a question of when, not if.
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I'm curious, where are your complaints about Google, Microsoft or all the other cloud services that also hold the master keys to encrypted data? Why the outrage over Apple and not those services? Why is Apple being singled out for something that everyone does in similar fashion?
As to your claims about data stored on Azure or other servers (which Apple does do), are you aware of how Apple stores files?
Sorry, but employees at Azure or Amazon don't have encryption keys to data stored there.
I think this scenario is far fetched. Apple uses HSM (hardware security module) clusters in the cloud, which make it very difficult to extract the keys. It is far more likely that keys in the user's possession (e.g. for E2E encryption) are compromised.
The main concern is that Apple can be compelled by local authorities (not just in the US) to decrypt the content, and that this can be abused by said authorities.
If they have implemented it right, the root keys themselves are accessible by very few or no persons (decryption can be performed on the HSM without the key ever leaving it).
You didn't read my post very carefully before drafting your missive. I didn't say Apple is like Google in how it gathers or treats your data. I said Apple gets $9B/year from Google to enable them to monetize your data. They're both profiting from the monetization of users' data - the only difference is Google is the one actually doing it whereas Apple is handing its users to Google to allow it (and profiting from it just like Google is). And I brought up monetization to demonstrate the pattern of Tim Cook/Apple saying one thing in public but doing the opposite in private.
I do understand that the US government and FBI is putting Apple in a really tough spot here. But this is hugely disappointing. Especially considering you have ZERO way to automatise backups of your iOS devices in any other way than using iCloud.
If I could host my own private iCloud on my own server at home, or at least purchase something like a Apple TimeCapsule or anything similar in order to keep this data private it would be one thing. But as no other sensible solution actually exists one can't really proclaim Apple is all that into protection people's privacy.
They can't use privacy as a huge marketing term and reason for choosing Apple all while they keep all your iCloud Data free for Apple themselves to decrypt whenever they feel like it. If Apple wants to push for a privacy-first world, they can't be so naive that they believe it's okay for themselves to have the key to all our encrypted iCloud Data.
It's not like iCloud is all about Backup's. Like 95% of all my apps uses iCloud to some extent for various features and whatnot. None of my data is really private when it so much of it flows through iCloud and all that date is being stored on Apple's servers without end-to-end-encryption.
If we are to trust Apple with this data, then the end-to-end-encryption should be there otherwise there. The only reason for this not being end-to-end encrypted is because we can't entrust Apple to keep the data private. Sure today it's only the FBI with the proper governmental approvement that might gain access, but tomorrow it might be someone else that suddenly manages to force themselves access to the data.
If I could host my own private iCloud on my own server at home, or at least purchase something like a Apple TimeCapsule or anything similar in order to keep this data private it would be one thing. But as no other sensible solution actually exists one can't really proclaim Apple is all that into protection people's privacy.
They can't use privacy as a huge marketing term and reason for choosing Apple all while they keep all your iCloud Data free for Apple themselves to decrypt whenever they feel like it. If Apple wants to push for a privacy-first world, they can't be so naive that they believe it's okay for themselves to have the key to all our encrypted iCloud Data.
It's not like iCloud is all about Backup's. Like 95% of all my apps uses iCloud to some extent for various features and whatnot. None of my data is really private when it so much of it flows through iCloud and all that date is being stored on Apple's servers without end-to-end-encryption.
If we are to trust Apple with this data, then the end-to-end-encryption should be there otherwise there. The only reason for this not being end-to-end encrypted is because we can't entrust Apple to keep the data private. Sure today it's only the FBI with the proper governmental approvement that might gain access, but tomorrow it might be someone else that suddenly manages to force themselves access to the data.
"Apple is practically one of the only major tech companies taking a stand against the FBI over encryption and privacy"
In public - just like Tim Cook, in public, claims to be for worker's rights, privacy etc, but will quite happily bow down to the Chinese government in all those issues. Remeber that Apple signed on to PRISM under Tim Cook's leadership.
Look up the PGP encryption case (and the attempt at Clipper) back in the 90s and the fiasco that was (3)DES.
I see no legal basis for a back door that is compatible with the USA consitituion (and its amendments).
You’re being disingenuous again. Apple isn’t selling user data to Google because Google gets no user identifying information.
Your statement “Apple is handing its users to Google” is nothing more than a lie.
Moreover this is how the US agencies, like the CIA and NSA can avoid the 4th amendment and due process, by getting friendly governments to pass over the information on, for example, whilstle-blowers.
I think this is a non-issue. People (in the USA) seem to think (the past 10+ years) that they are entitled to 100% privacy whether it's from government or hackers or their parents. It's completely unrealistic both ethically, legally, and technically.
First, if you truly have some kind of private/secret data that you do not want stolen/copied/etc, you don't let it out of your hands. People who create such content, for example working on a patent at home or at a company, sure as heck don't store all that private content on "the cloud"...and they don't send it out via email or text messages. They keep it on THEIR computer with THEIR backup devices and POSSIBLY choose to encrypt it. Does the average iPhone user have such critically private data? No. If you have nude selfies, then don't upload them to the cloud or email them or text them. Leave them on your iPhone if you believe your iPhone is the most secure place or move them to your computer and encrypt the folder.
Next, Apple really should not be playing Police Officer. How is Apple going to implement an encrypted cloud and not catch hell from various countries across the globe, let alone in the USA.
As people have stated here, if you have data in the cloud and think it's 100% safe/secure/private, you're dreaming.
For those of you who believe your iPhone is only place where you can store your deepest, most private pieces of your life, do yourself a favor...fork over the extra $100 for the larger-storage iPhone and NEVER upload anything to iCloud and you won't have to worry instead of paying $40/year for iCloud storage that you're not so happy about. Oh, and if you seemingly burn through 256GB of storage on your iPhone, there is surely a larger-storage iPhone around the corner (already 2 512GB iPhones now).
I do believe, however, that the USA government, with proper legal/court orders in hand, should be able to get "the data" from any USA company they choose. It's been happening for 50+ years with ISPs and telephone companies as well as high tech companies and I see no problem with legitimate use with Apple's servers. We can spend hours giving good and bad examples of government requests, and I agree all bad requests should be ignored.
If you want to encrypt/hide something and keep it super secret from everyone in the world, do it in your own home or business on your own equipment where you have full control of the situation and don't have to worry about laws, companies changing policies, companies being aquired, companies going out of business, hackers attempting to get your data, forgetting to pay your Premium and all your data gets nuked, etc.
First, if you truly have some kind of private/secret data that you do not want stolen/copied/etc, you don't let it out of your hands. People who create such content, for example working on a patent at home or at a company, sure as heck don't store all that private content on "the cloud"...and they don't send it out via email or text messages. They keep it on THEIR computer with THEIR backup devices and POSSIBLY choose to encrypt it. Does the average iPhone user have such critically private data? No. If you have nude selfies, then don't upload them to the cloud or email them or text them. Leave them on your iPhone if you believe your iPhone is the most secure place or move them to your computer and encrypt the folder.
Next, Apple really should not be playing Police Officer. How is Apple going to implement an encrypted cloud and not catch hell from various countries across the globe, let alone in the USA.
As people have stated here, if you have data in the cloud and think it's 100% safe/secure/private, you're dreaming.
For those of you who believe your iPhone is only place where you can store your deepest, most private pieces of your life, do yourself a favor...fork over the extra $100 for the larger-storage iPhone and NEVER upload anything to iCloud and you won't have to worry instead of paying $40/year for iCloud storage that you're not so happy about. Oh, and if you seemingly burn through 256GB of storage on your iPhone, there is surely a larger-storage iPhone around the corner (already 2 512GB iPhones now).
I do believe, however, that the USA government, with proper legal/court orders in hand, should be able to get "the data" from any USA company they choose. It's been happening for 50+ years with ISPs and telephone companies as well as high tech companies and I see no problem with legitimate use with Apple's servers. We can spend hours giving good and bad examples of government requests, and I agree all bad requests should be ignored.
If you want to encrypt/hide something and keep it super secret from everyone in the world, do it in your own home or business on your own equipment where you have full control of the situation and don't have to worry about laws, companies changing policies, companies being aquired, companies going out of business, hackers attempting to get your data, forgetting to pay your Premium and all your data gets nuked, etc.