Leaked Documents Suggest CIA Work on Hacked Version of Xcode, OS X Installer Exploit

[giantfan1224]

What do you think transparency means?

Sharing every detail of every project being done?

The CIA/NSA have and always will have secrets as to the methods used to collect information.

This is nothing new people. You gave up your privacy a long time ago when you started using a checking account/SSN/ etc.

Obama ran on a platform of running a more transparent govt, in stark contrast to what we had just experienced with GWB. Many events that have transpired--including this one--only illustrate the reality that the transparency platform was a farce.

That is all.

 

[Swift]

spying vs. justice?

We have lots and lots of secret communication, far more privacy than at any era in history. There's so much of it. At the beginning of the telephone age, there was no agreed-upon standard on wiretapping. Police did it all the time. Then somebody said, "Uh, fourth amendment?" And the whole thing was reviewed. Need a warrant to tap a phone, needs to be passed through a judge, probable cause, all that. The modern system began later on. For the FBI, it was somewhat looser. They dealt with counterintelligence and interstate crime or federal law. And Hoover was entrenched.

I don't like the way Snowden keeps making no difference between a lawful warrant, based on the proper procedures, and spying. It's not done by the same people for the same reasons, or in the same places. If anybody thinks that we're the only country that spies needs to do some reading. The rights of American 'persons' under reasonable suspicion can override the right to privacy if there are reasonable grounds. "It is likely there is criminal activity going on on this phone." Some spy in town, though, or somebody with a reasonable chance of setting off a bomb, I don't really care if my privacy is theoretically violated.
iPhone shots caught Tsarnaev after the store cams showed fuzzy photos.

Those who would completely undo all spying by all government agencies in the world are welcome to explain how they will go about that.

 

[philosopherdog]

The CIA and NSA would love big tech to have back doors everywhere, but that would be the end of big tech. Why on earth would anyone on the U.S. hate list ever use anything made by Americans unless they were guaranteed that it wasn't full of back doors? According to wiki leaks Google is very much in bed with governments around the world. I wouldn't touch an android phone with a ten foot pole for this among other reasons. Microsoft also has a terrible record. I think this issue is one that Apple could seriously use to gain a bigger share in the enterprise. It's happening for them in mobile. They must guarantee that they are not working with law enforcement. It's the CIA and NSA's problem.

 

[brdeveloper]

I thank CIA for draining my battery faster.

 

[orioncrystalice]

scum, scum, and more scum, nothing more and nothing less

 

[technosix]

Pretty despicable what our government is doing. Everything they do to hack and infiltrate American's computers, phones, tablets, etc is a clear violation of Federal anti-hacking and computer fraud and abuse laws. Yet they do it anyways and the DOJ refuses to ever investigate how many laws our government breaks.

When what you do is a crime and when the government does it, it's legal...thats how you know you live under a tyrannical government.

The great divider is thrilled with the zero enforcement policy. Just keep building the government bigger, fatter, more liberal with lots of debt to give China even more leverage.

Laws? Create duplicates since existing ones are failing to enforce themselves. Tell warm and fuzzy stories, lots of jobs created, adversaries on the run, not an enemy in sight.

Hurry and hand out big wads of cash to the new border crossers, then jet off to a late night talk show to yuck it up and show young America how cool you are.

It's good to live in the lap of wealth and adoration

 

[aaronvan]

I thank CIA for draining my battery faster.

I thank the CIA for making Safari snappier.

 

[axual]

That's not the point ...

I wish people would stop being so suspicious of agencies like the CIA. These hard working men and women are there to protect us all. From the terrorists.

We all live in a safer and more secure world, thanks to the CIA!

That's not the point. The point is the Constitution of the United States and the rights we have given to us by that document. If you have a government that doesn't care about that, then what's the point? It's a slippery slope, and we're already on the hill.

“Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

 

[OriginalClone]

I wish people would stop being so suspicious of agencies like the CIA. These hard working men and women are there to protect us all. From the terrorists.

We all live in a safer and more secure world, thanks to the CIA!

I lol'd. I hope you weren't being serious.

 

[vrDrew]

That's not the point. The point is the Constitution of the United States and the rights we have given to us by that document.

You are making a bit of a logical leap here.

Just because the CIA/NSA are trying develop tools that would allow them to decrypt iPhone or other iOS messaging, it doesn't necessarily suggest they are snooping illegally or unConstitutionally into Americans' private communications.

It has been settled case law, going back to the founding of the Republic, that with a properly executed warrant the Government may intercept (and read) private mails. The coming of radio and telephone technology meant that Government agents - with the appropriate legal probable cause and warrants - could wiretap and listen in to the communications of those it was lawfully investigating.

There is nothing inherently different here. Other than the fact that the iPhone has placed a theoretically undecryptable communications device in the hands of half a billion people around the world. Some of whom are very likely intent on doing bad things.

Provided the NSA and other organs of the US' Intelligence Community abide by the laws and regulations relating to surveillance, I really don't see a problem here.

What we - as citizens - ought to be more concerned about is the mechanism whereby the FISA court grants warrants to tap US residents' communications. Not the technical means by which they might decrypt those messages.

 

[GoodWatch]

I wish people would stop being so suspicious of agencies like the CIA. These hard working men and women are there to protect us all. From the terrorists.

We all live in a safer and more secure world, thanks to the CIA!

I don't want to sound too cynical but: really?

 

[ttss6]

The scary part isn't what is revealed, but the part of the story that is kept secret from the masses. I'm sure there are much more concerning things that are being done which most of us will never know.

 

[scottwaugh]

So the implication here seems to be the CIA/NSA etc. (had someone on the Apple Dev team?) modify the Xcode source to include whatever it is they're talking about (with regards to Xcode). Afterwards its distributed to everyone whenever someone uses Xcode to create an OS X / iOS application.

Apple should take this extremely seriously (once you have a back door in the compiler's logic/output, its game over and extremely hard to detect).

Apple should have a team with duplicate oversight go back through Xcode changes to the early 2000's looking for anything suspicious. Frankly, this is alarming since this is the only compiler for Apple operating systems.

 

[KdParker]

Obama ran on a platform of running a more transparent govt, in stark contrast to what we had just experienced with GWB. Many events that have transpired--including this one--only illustrate the reality that the transparency platform was a farce.

That is all.

Again...what do you think transparency is in terms or running any organization?

You aren't defining what you would consider transparent. I didn't see anyone from the government preventing this news from being made public.

 

[Max(IT)]

Weird. But my position is the same: who cares about CIA ?

 

[aloshka]

I wish people would stop being so suspicious of agencies like the CIA. These hard working men and women are there to protect us all. From the terrorists.

We all live in a safer and more secure world, thanks to the CIA!

This sounds like a really bad ad. Same exact wording as fracking commercials.

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The real question is who are they targeting? It sounds like they want eyes and ears in every home in the country to me. It really has nothing to do with terrorism at all. I won't go so far as to say it's impossible for apple products to be used in such activity but a great many of those involved seem to come from poor backgrounds.

Great scape goats, nothing like choosing the wrong person out of millions that matches a good description and was somewhere at the right time and the right place.

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I'd call ******** on that.
The CIA and other US organisations have funded terrorists around the world, have supplied weapons and training.
http://www.dcclothesline.com/2014/08/22/realize-u-s-funded-trained-isis-right/

The CIA et al is doing enormous harm, the rest of the world now views the US in such the same way as China, ultimately untrustworthy.

Internally the USA is failing, in Health, education, welfare, housing,freedom of speech, freedom of the press, democracy, corruption, racism,infrastructure, all these are failing

The letter that 47 republicans wrote to Iran is not helping the situation. We get they hate Obama, but to write a letter that basically states you shouldn't trust America because republicans are not in power is big enough to be tried for treason. Even Iran president responded with roughly--this is insane, we don't trust America and will not sign anything with them

 

[xizdun]

Funny how the NSA and CIA do so much more than China, and yet cry publicly when China does the same.

 

[NY Guitarist]

this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone at this point. that in itself should be alarming

I started a thread here about this: US and UK accused of hacking Sim card firm to steal codes and didn't get many responses.

I find apathy is just as alarming.

 

[AlecZ]

If only the government could at least create vulnerabilities for surveillance that couldn't be leaked to hackers (*cough* FREAK bug).

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I wish people would stop being so suspicious of agencies like the CIA. These hard working men and women are there to protect us all. From the terrorists.

We all live in a safer and more secure world, thanks to the CIA!

I'm not afraid of US government agencies spying on me, but I'm afraid that hackers might use the exploits they create as well or find vulnerabilities that indirectly result from government intervention. That is a legitimate concern for anyone. That's why there's a balance to be struck between privacy and national security.

 

[whitesand]

I wish people would stop being so suspicious of agencies like the CIA. These hard working men and women are there to protect us all. From the terrorists.

We all live in a safer and more secure world, thanks to the CIA!

Now that's some good sarcasm lol

 

[yjchua95]

He who would trade liberty for some temporary security, deserves neither liberty nor security. - Ben Franklin.

 

[antonis]

I find apathy is just as alarming.

I'd say apathy is the #1 requirement for all these practices to work. Always has been.

 

[bumblebritches5]

Oh, come on.

First of all, that was like 100 years ago.

Second, like my Pa used to say, "If you want to make an omelette, you have to cook some eggs".

What the **** is wrong with you?

 

[bumblebritches5]

If only the government could at least create vulnerabilities for surveillance that couldn't be leaked to hackers (*cough* FREAK bug).

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I'm not afraid of US government agencies spying on me, but I'm afraid that hackers might use the exploits they create as well or find vulnerabilities that indirectly result from government intervention. That is a legitimate concern for anyone. That's why there's a balance to be struck between privacy and national security.

You're aware that he is a CIA asset right? he's here to acclimate and ultimately brainwash people to support government agencies to spy on us.

 

[verpeiler]

I wish people would stop being so suspicious of agencies like the CIA. These hard working men and women are there to protect us all. From the terrorists.

We all live in a safer and more secure world, thanks to the CIA!

If this wasn't sarcasm... american idiocy at it's finest.