“Last year, when the F.B.I procured a court order forcing Apple to unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters, C.E.O. Tim Cook refused, sparking a months-long battle between the tech behemoth and the federal government,” Maya Kosoff writes for Vanity Fair.
“Building a back-door would set a ‘dangerous precedent’ and compromise the security of the iPhone, Cook argued in a public letter,” Kosoff writes. “After a tense showdown, the F.B.I. withdrew its case when it reportedly found another way to break into the iPhone: a private Israeli security firm called Cellebrite, which specializes in data extraction and had teamed up with the F.B.I. before. Cellebrite has received more than $2 million in purchase orders from the F.B.I. over the past four years.”
“Now, it appears Cook may have been right to worry about the iPhone’s security,” Kosoff writes. “A new report from Motherboard says Cellebrite has been hacked, and its data—including highly confidential customer information, databases, and technical details about Cellebrite’s products—has been stolen. The same technology built by Cellebrite to allow the F.B.I. to unlock iPhones could now be sold to the highest bidder.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, encryption is binary; it’s either on or off.
You cannot have both. You either have privacy via full encryption or you don’t by forcing back doors upon Apple. It’s all or nothing.
There have been people that suggest that we should have a back door. But the reality is if you put a back door in, that back door’s for everybody, for good guys and bad guys. — Apple CEO Tim Cook
Without strong encryption (meaning no back doors), U.S. companies’ tech products would be eschewed around the world.
SEE ALSO:
Apple CEO Tim Cook touts encryption at Senator Orrin Hatch’s Utah Tech Tour – October 3, 2016
Feckless FBI unable to unlock iPhone, even with a ‘fingerprint unlock warrant’ – May 12, 2016
FBI’s Comey says agency paid more than $1 million to access San Bernadino iPhone – April 21, 2016
Nothing significant found on San Bernardino’s terrorist’s iPhone – April 14, 2016
FBI director confirms hack only works on older iPhones that lack Apple’s Secure Enclave – April 7, 2016
Apple responds to FBI: ‘This case should have never been brought’ – March 29, 2016