Apple urges Australian government not to destroy encryption with ‘backdoors’

“Apple has submitted its formal response to a draft bill undergoing debate by the Australian government, with the iPhone maker calling for ‘increasingly stronger – not weaker – encryption’ as a way to protect against the growing number of online threats,” Malcolm Owen reports for AppleInsider.

“Provided to AppleInsider by Apple, the the seven-page submission to the Australian Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security on the ‘Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018,’ arguing for clarity on the bill’s aims, and encouraging the government to avoid going down the route of weakening encryption,” Owen reports. “Introduced to the parliamentary calendar in August, the bill proposes updates to the country’s telecommunications-related laws, including a need for private sector firms to ‘provide greater assistance to agencies.’ While the bill demands assistance from companies like Apple, the language used is ambiguous enough to potentially mean the creation of backdoors into encrypted apps and services, something which many tech companies strongly disagree with. ”

“Referencing the government’s Notifiable Data Breaches database’s records of 2.5 or more daily data breaches over the last quarter, ‘and that’s just breaches that were identified and reported,’ Apple offers up the NotPetya attack from 2017 as an example of a need for robust security, an attack which effectively shut down Cadbury’s manufacturing systems and impacting other firms,” Owen reports, “‘In the face of these threats, this is no time to weaken encryption. There is a profound risk of making criminals’ jobs easier, not harder,’ writes Apple. ‘Increasingly stronger – not weaker – encryption is the best way to protect against these threats.'”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Ignorant politicians proposing stupid laws. Same as it ever was.

Why don’t these genius politicians next attempt to legislate in purple unicorns? They’re equally as plentiful as secure backdoors. – MacDailyNews, October 3, 2018

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 or anybody else. It’s all or nothing. — MacDailyNews, March 8, 2017

There have been people that suggest that we should have a back door. But the reality is if you put a backdoor in, that backdoor’s for everybody, for good guys and bad guys. — Apple CEO Tim Cook, December 2015

This is not about this phone. This is about the future. And so I do see it as a precedent that should not be done in this country or in any country. This is about civil liberties and is about people’s abilities to protect themselves. If we take encryption away… the only people that would be affected are the good people, not the bad people. Apple doesn’t own encryption. Encryption is readily available in every country in the world, as a matter of fact, the U.S. government sponsors and funs encryption in many cases. And so, if we limit it in some way, the people that we’ll hurt are the good people, not the bad people; they will find it anyway. — Apple CEO Tim Cook, February 2016

Interns: TTK!

SEE ALSO:
Apple, other tech giants denounce proposed Australian law seeking encryption ‘backdoor’ – October 3, 2018
More proof that iPhone backdoors are a stupid idea: Massive cache of law enforcement personnel data leaks – July 2, 2018
Bipartisan ‘Secure Data Act’ would make it illegal for U.S. government to demand backdoors – May 11, 2018
Bill Gates thinks Apple should unlock iPhones at the government’s request – February 13, 2018
FBI Director Wray calls inability to access electronic devices an ‘urgent public safety issue’ – January 9, 2018
Tim Cook’s refusal to create iPhone backdoor for FBI vindicated by ‘WannaCry’ ransomware attack on Windows PCs – May 15, 2017
The Microsoft Tax: Leaked NSA malware hijacks Windows PCs worldwide; Macintosh unaffected – May 13, 2017
Bungling Microsoft singlehandedly proves that ‘back doors’ are a stupid idea – August 10, 2016
U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu says strong encryption without backdoors is a ‘national security priority’ – April 29, 2016
iPhone backdoors would pose a threat, French privacy chief warns – April 8, 2016
The U.S. government’s fight with Apple could backfire big time – March 14, 2016
Obama pushes for iPhone back door; Congressman Issa blasts Obama’s ‘fundamental lack of understanding’ – March 12, 2016
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch backs U.S. government overreach on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – March 11, 2016
Former CIA Director: FBI wants to dictate iPhone’s operating system – March 11, 2016
FBI warns it could demand Apple’s iPhone code and secret electronic signature – March 10, 2016
California Democrat Diane Feinstein backs U.S. government overreach over Apple – March 10, 2016
Snowden: U.S. government’s claim it can’t unlock San Bernardino iPhone is ‘bullshit’ – March 10, 2016
Apple could easily lock rights-trampling governments out of future iPhones – February 20, 2016
Apple CEO Tim Cook lashes out at Obama administration over encryption, bemoans White House lack of leadership – January 13, 2016
Obama administration demands master encryption keys from firms in order to conduct electronic surveillance against Internet users – July 24, 2013