“When federal prosecutors announced Monday that an outside party had come forward with a technique that might unlock the iPhone used by San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook without Apple’s cooperation, the tech giant could have reason to view it as a major victory — and a major risk,” David Pierson reports for The Los Angeles Times. “What would be worse for a company that has insisted privacy is core to its identity — and whose marquee device is among the safest on the market? Caving to government pressure and writing its own decryption software, or conceding its phones are not as secure as some believed [?]”
“Apple, civil liberty groups and digital privacy advocates say the first option would be far more damaging,” Pierson reports. “Attorneys for Apple, speaking on the condition that they not be named or directly quoted, said the company has never claimed its software is unbreakable. They said combating hackers and criminals requires constant diligence and that the potential of a third-party hack underscores how difficult the company’s job is.”
Pierson reports, “The company is already reportedly working on even tougher security tools for its products and software.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Hacks are good for responsible companies because they result in stronger operating systems.
It also doesn’t hurt Apple that the alternatives available on the market are absolute security nightmares.
SEE ALSO:
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F-Secure: Android accounted for 99% of new mobile malware in Q1 2014 – April 30, 2014
Google’s Sundar Pichai: Android not designed to be safe; if I wrote malware, I’d target Android, too – February 27, 2014
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