“Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden has backed Apple’s refusal to comply with a federal court order to help the FBI unlock an iPhone used by one of the assailants in the mass shootings in San Bernardino, Calif. in December,” Jessica Guynn reports for USA Today. “‘The @FBI is creating a world where citizens rely on #Apple to defend their rights, rather than the other way around,’ Snowden tweeted.”
“Snowden called on Internet giant Google to stand with Apple, saying ‘this is the most important tech case in a decade,'” Guynn reports. “‘Silence means @google picked a side, but it’s not the public’s,’ he wrote. Google did not respond to a request for comment.”
Guynn reports, “Apple and Google engineered their software so they cannot unlock devices in the wake of damaging revelations by Snowden that made the world suspicious they created “back doors” for American intelligence and law enforcement.”
MacDailyNews Take: Let’s get real: Google’s me-too promise of encryption will take several years to roll out to a significant number of fragmandroid sufferers.
Android 5.0 and 5.0 only comprise 35.3% of Android devices. The percentage of those are encrypted by default is far less than even that due to significant performance issues. Android 6.0, with full-disk encryption on by default, is only running 1.2% of Android devices!
With 17% running iOS 8 and 77% running iOS 9, 94% of Apple’s iOS devices are encrypted.
In other words, stop trying to equate Android with iOS by including Google’s efforts with Apple’s. Android is a bad joke, as usual.
This is the most important tech case in a decade. Silence means @google picked a side, but it's not the public's. https://t.co/mi5irJcr25
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 17, 2016
Guynn reports, “Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people in December in a mass shooting at a county public health facility. The pair died in a gun battle with police. An iPhone 5C was recovered from the scene.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Using Google products means you do not value your security or privacy.
SEE ALSO:
Obama administration: We’re only demanding Apple hack just one iPhone – February 17, 2016
Security firm shows how Apple could bypass iPhone security to comply with FBI request – February 17, 2016
What the Apple court order means for your smartphone privacy – February 17, 2016
EFF opposes U.S. government demand to force Apple to unlock terrorist’s iPhone – February 17, 2016
‘Who do they think they are?’ Donald Trump blasts Apple for not unlocking San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone – February 17, 2016
Tim Cook posts open letter opposing U.S. government demands to bypass iPhone encryption – February 17, 2016
Apple CEO opposes court order to help FBI unlock San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone – February 17, 2016
Apple wants judge to rule if it can be forced to unlock defendant’s iPhone – February 16, 2016
U.S. House lawmakers seek to outlaw states from banning encrypted iPhones – February 10, 2016
Obama administration wants access to smartphones – December 15, 2015
Obama administration’s calls for backdoors into encrypted communications echo Clinton-era key escrow fiasco – December 14, 2015
Donald Trump: To stop ISIS recruiting, maybe we should be talking to Bill Gates about ‘closing that Internet up in some way’ – December 8, 2015
Hillary Clinton: We need to put Silicon Valley tech firms to ‘work at disrupting ISIS’ – December 7, 2015
Apple CEO Cook: ‘You can’t have a back door that’s only for the good guys’ – November 21, 2015
Apple CEO Cook defends encryption, opposes back door for government spies – October 20, 2015
Do not let the government snoops weaken encryption – November 4, 2015
U.S. NSA seeks to build quantum computer to crack most types of encryption – January 3, 2014
Judge compares government request for Apple to access users’ iPhone data to execution order – October 27, 2015
U.S. judge expresses doubts over forcing Apple to unlock iPhone – October 26, 2015
Apple tells U.S. judge it can’t unlock iPhones running iOS 8 or higher – October 20, 2015
a href=”http://macdailynews.com/2015/10/20/apple-ceo-cook-defends-encryption-opposes-back-door-for-government-spies/”>Apple CEO Cook defends encryption, opposes back door for government spies – October 20, 2015
With Apple court order, activist federal judge seeks to fuel debate about data encryption – October 12, 2015
Judge declines to order Apple to disable security on device seized by U.S. government – October 10, 2015
Apple refused to give iMessages to the U.S. government – September 8, 2015
Obama administration war against Apple just got uglier – July 31, 2015
Edward Snowden: Apple is a privacy pioneer – June 5, 2015
Apple, others urge Obama to reject any proposal for smartphone backdoors – May 19, 2015
U.S. appeals court rules NSA bulk collection of phone data illegal – May 7, 2015
In open letter to Obama, Apple, Google, others urge Patriot Act not be renewed – March 26, 2015
Apple’s iOS encryption has ‘petrified’ the U.S. administration, governments around the world – March 19, 2015
Wow… If that is not the Hypocrisy of century…
Unreal.
Facts get low stars rating… Lol
If u have a mind.. And you are not merely an idislistic sheep… Write your counterpoint .
First I think you need to make your point in a lucid manner. I am not trying to be cute or mean. Is it the hypocrisy of the government, Apple, Snowden or Google?
Second, regardless of which entity you are talking about, be clear that your opinion does not represent “Facts” but just your opinion.
Third, when you think some of us are sheep, why do you take the time to ask us our opinion. You have shown that you wouldn’t value our opinion anyway.
i did ask for the opinions as lucidly as i can, if you read my 2 line post entirely.
“Write your counterpoint ”
Snowdens is being a hypocrite.. No two ways about it. !
Saying something and doing something else . …
Snowden? I would have never guessed. I really don’t have any strong feelings about Snowden so I won’t defend or damn him.
But I am curious as to why defending Snowden would make the poster a sheep?
I was not addressing a poster who actually wrote something ….. I was addressing those who give low star rating without stating their counterpoint.
To me when somwone just takes a position without understanding it …. Its sheep mentality… They are following the herd around them.. They have no judment of their own. ….. They are indoctrinated into dogmatic ways.
My comment was not intended towards those who put up a logical ” non-dogmatic” argument….
‘Snowden former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee, and former contractor for the US Government who copied classified information from the United States National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013 without prior authorization…’
His actions and position are one of hypocrisy..,…
Im not even discussing right or wrong here…
I think yojimbo007 hit andropause this week. He’s not making much sense, having just terminated a bizarre flame war with him over nonsense. Be kind! Perhaps he’ll make sense next week after hormonal adjustment.
And that’s my counterpoint.
We don’t trust the executive, we don’t trust the congress, and we don’t trust the judiciary. You’re right about one thing, Mr. President, we have a problem… a BIG problem. But I don’t see anyone working very hard to solve the real problem with the possible exception of Bernie Sanders. And I’m not even sure about him.
I guess the “good news” with Bernie would be that he would share your neighbor’s personal info with you after he shared yours with them. 😛
Hilarious, he talks about how people don’t trust any branch of government, then says we can trust him, because there is oversight from the other (untrustworthy) branches of government. 2017 can’t come soon enough.
We know we can’t trust the IRS.
Google is remaining silent for a very simple reason:
If it had been an Android phone, we wouldn’t even be talking about it. It would have been cracked within minutes. End of discussion.
The Gubbermint has misused, abused, and engaged in some of the most OUTRAGEOUS illegal conduct over the last 10 years to wit— NSA, DEA, FBI, IRS, Lerner, Attkinson, DOJ, Tea Party supression etc etc etc……….
Their unrepentant, unabated conduct has now earned them the universal “Hell NO” response……..you know that if the tech industry crumbles then the “me-too” BS will start unabated….Never mind the Chinese, Russians, and assorted other 3-4th world dictators, despots, and mutants….!!!!
Encryption and “burner phones” have been around for YEARS!!
And for the TSA–“it’s for our safety” crowd I say BS.
Feds get off your azzzzzzzzzzzz and go recruit sources/informants and metadata sources; get out of the office and away from your desktop….
Use your GS-1811 taxpayer provided G-car for something other than stopping for groceries on the way home or dropping kids at school…..
Mr Snowden for NDA Director
Spellcheck: NSA vs NDA.
It’d be funnier to have him as the NDA Director. Mr. Disclosure himself.
👍
This is stupid. Give the stupid phone to Apple with a single FBI agent watching (preferably a stupid one). Let someone at Apple extract all the stupid info from the phone and then destroy the stupid phone. All they want is the stupid info.
Not enough O’s in stoooopid to describe the FBIs ‘approach’ here.
I fail to see how Apple can do it even if they wanted to. That would mean they already have a back door which they supposedly don’t. So why aren’t they telling the government it’s impossible on current phones without this future update?
You can’t ask Google to speak up when their core business is based on spying.
Google has been trespassing the line from day one.
I bet even money that the unlock code is the same as his ATM PIN. Plus, they presumably know his other passwords to other sites to see if this is, in fact, likely.
Damn, had dinner last night where an FBI agent from the JTTF was speaking and I forgot to suggest this to him.
Snowden is a traitor and an asshole. Fuck him and anything he has to say.
Spot on.
Well said
Np, Snowden is a hero.
WandaMaeJones: There’s a country you’d LOVE!
It’s called North Korea. PLEASE move there! We’ll all pitch in with the moving expenses and good riddance.
Thank you Mr. Snowden, patriot whistleblower!
Google: Seriously. Look at the horror that is Android security specifically thanks to fragmandroid AND Google not taking the security of their Google Play store seriously, despite promises to keep it cleaned up.
Google: Weasels wearing happy masks.
Google: Grow a pair! You’re NOT going to like totalitarianism, which is what you’re inviting.
A true patriot wouldn’t have fled the country.
He would have stood up and fought publicly in court.
Never heard of Guantanamo Bay? The NSA wanted to put the man in front of a firing squad — though they were the scumbags breaking the law, illegally spying on the American people.
Mr Snowden is a national hero (international hero) for blowing the whistle on them. Would you hang around if the choice is nine bullets or being beaten, raped and killed in prison?
No, thought not. He’d have never seen the inside of a courtroom.
I don’t question him leaving. I DO however question him going to Hong Kong (aka little China) and Russia, both of whom are scum-of-the-Earth countries. My understanding is that he had repeated offers from Iceland for safe haven and he ignored them.
The USA is NOT a safe or just country for whistleblowers. That’s why Snowden left. His remaining out in the wild has been an excellent addendum to the data he helped reveal to the world. We can hear from him and even talk to him directly about any and all things. That would NOT be the case with him unjustly incarcerated, locked up in solitary isolation, with no access to anyone. As a patriot whistleblower he’d have been treated like garbage here in the USA, completely unjustly, his wise and insightful voice cut off from public discourse.
Now back to Iceland Edward. What’s up with that?