Apple Vs. FBI
The terrorist attack in San Bernardino on Dec. 2 undoubtedly shook California, and the rest of the country, to the core.
The shooting was just one example of the kind of threats that can occur on our soil, and at times and places we may never expect.
The FBI is in possession of Syed Farook’s iPhone who, along with his wife Tashfeen Malik, orchestrated the shooting that left 14 dead and 22 wounded.
Farook’s employer handed over the iPhone 5C to the U.S. government, but the FBI hasn’t been able to break into the device because of Apple’s complex encryption system, particularly its passcode lock.
The only way the FBI can access any of the phone’s information is by cracking Farook’s passcode. But after 10 failed attempts, Apple’s system renders the phone “permanently inaccessible” automatically erasing the device’s access key.
To work around the security system, Federal Judge Sheri Pym ordered Apple to create software that would allow the FBI to bypass the passcode, something the tech company says would create a “backdoor” to all iPhones.
If that didn’t terrify you, keep reading.
The FBI claims the software’s use would be a “one time thing” and will be destroyed after the terrorist’s phone is successfully unlocked.
But would it be a one time thing?
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced in a message to customers that the company opposed the Feb. 16 court order, which he said has “implications far beyond the legal case at hand.” He also stated that the software the FBI requested would be “too dangerous to create,” comparing it to a master key capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks.
The FBI wants Apple to construct a new operating system that would remove security precautions and allow unlimited password attempts without deleting any content.
“Once the information is known, or a way to bypass the code is revealed, the encryption can be defeated by anyone with that knowledge,” Cook said.
Cook believes that once people know the program exists, it will become the ultimate tool for hackers everywhere.
This would give government the power to access private information contained on the nearly 900 million iPhones sold worldwide.
With the software, the FBI would be able to see your personal messages, your photos, your videos, your bank accounts, and anything else that you keep on your phone (i.e. everything).
Any information they want, whenever they want it.
Is this something we should let happen? No.
Apple is accusing the FBI of seeking a dangerous power through the courts that Congress and the American people have previously denied, something Cook described as, “the ability to force companies like Apple to undermine the basic security and privacy interests of hundreds of millions of individuals around the globe.”
While law enforcement has worked with Apple to access iPhones in the past, the tech company’s 2014 debut of its iOS 8 operating system changed that.
The creation of iOS 8 came with extensive updates to Apple’s encryption because, according to Cook, “we believe the contents of your iPhone are none of our business.”
On March 1, Apple and the FBI will face off in front of the House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee.
Regardless of the outcome, American citizens can only hope that respect for their privacy rights will continue to be defended by someone – even if it isn’t “our” government.
