Encryption has always been viewed as a double edged blade used by all types of people, regardless of demographics and character, for good and for bad. While the majority of people who employ encryption of some form utilise it to protect personal data such as pictures and documents, nefarious denizens have also employed it in an effort to break the law and evade conviction.
However, due to the latter group of people, there is an increase in governments around the world calling for backdoors into applications and asking people to desist using encryption of any form. The United States of America springs to forefront in any debate about encryption due to a number of reasons such as many gargantuan technology companies calling it home, the government’s calls for backdoors and of course, the leaking of documents that revealed the mass eavesdropping clandestine agencies in America committed. One company that has championed the cause for encryption has been Apple, with Tim Cook repeatedly speaking out against backdoors or anything else that may result in security vulnerabilities. He once again took pen to paper, or rather keyboard to document, after Apple was ordered by a Judge to help the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) install a backdoor into the iPhone that belonged to a terrorist involved in the San Bernardino shooting.
“When the FBI has requested data that’s in our possession, we have provided it. Apple complies with valid subpoenas and search warrants, as we have in the San Bernardino case. We have also made Apple engineers available to advise the FBI, and we’ve offered our best ideas on a number of investigative options at their disposal.
We have great respect for the professionals at the FBI, and we believe their intentions are good. Up to this point, we have done everything that is both within our power and within the law to help them. But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.”
While it may seem to be a clear cut decision for most onlookers, it potentially opens the gates to something encryption aficionados fear. According to Tim Cook, the FBI wants Apple to create a separate version of the iOS firmware that circumvents many of the essential security features for the sole use of installing that on the iPhone 5C in their possession and thus bypassing the security and gaining access to the devices files. However what’s alarming to both Apple and encryption proponents is that such a piece of software, which doesn’t exist today, whilst being requested for this one case has no absolute guarantee that it may be used unjustifiably in other instances or may fall in the wrong hands. In essence, Apple would not just be making a separate, security free version of iOS, they would be engineering a master key that could unlock iPhones anywhere and at any time.
“The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.”
Apple has as a result opposed the Judge’s orders due to the fact that it would set what they feel is a dangerous precedent; if the United States government, using the All Writs Act, can manage to make unlocking your phone easier it would have the terrifying power to virtually reach into your iPhone and peruse through your data. According to Apple the situation may change to Apple being asked to build surveillance software to intercept messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge.
“While we believe the FBI’s intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our product,”
– Tim Cook, CEO of Apple.
