OVERVIEW
There is a lot of splash in the news about Apple Computers, Inc. refusing to surrender the keys to its encryption protocol to the i-Phone to the FBI. Please note that once they give it to the US Court System, the encryption becomes useless. 
This week a federal magistrate ordered Apple to help the FBI break into the iPhone belonging to Syed Farook by finding a way to bypass that annoying passcode — that, didn’t exist until 2014. 
Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday issued a statement saying the company would fight the federal order. Cook called the ruling government overreach and said “this moment calls for public discussion, and we want our customers and people around the country to understand what is at stake.” He insisted the order “has implications far beyond the legal case at hand.” He said that “while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.” 
A British proposal being considered in December to provide a way for that government to access iPhone information in matters of national security elicited a similar response from Apple, thus far unresolved. 
FBI Director James Comey earlier told Congress — unrelated to this case — that the failure of Apple and other companies to provide de-encryption data put the bureau at risk of “going dark” in its efforts to stymie attacks or find the culprits responsible for one already committed.
THE PUZZLE PALACE
Of course the National Security Agency can crack the encryption on the i-Phone but they won’t confirm or deny that capacity, and they don’t talk to the FBI very often. This is the fallacy of the whole argument about Apple and what the government wants. The US and British Governments no doubt already have it. 
A NEW HOME FOR APPLE?
If the USA really wants to pressure Apple, CEO Tim Cook can always move to say, Mexico or Bolivia. Apple’s annual revenue exceeds the gross national product of Bolivia. I’m sure that the Bolivarian dictatorship would welcome the bump in income and could give a rat’s ass about encryption. That’s the same sort of problem that Bernie Sanders would encounter should he be able to enact that 90% tax rate for the most successful. Unless the US would want to put up an “iron curtain”, wealth would leave.

Of course the controversy will have people buying Apple products. I wish I’d bought Apple stock before this goat rope started.

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19 COMMENTS

  1. LL: I wouldn't bet the farm that NSA can crack the Apple codes. The intel product that I used to provide went to NSA, as well as to their British counterparts, GCHQ, and I dealt with an NSA dweeb or two in my day .

    Those guys there are not as smart as you think. They all work for the government. Let that soak in a bit.

    They would like everybody to think they can de-cypher any crytpo issue, but they can't.

  4. Court order.

    If it was a reporter, contempt of court and wait it out in the orange(is the new black) jumpsuit.

    Apple could download the data and hand it over to FBI, have a nice day.

    Cook is trying for Leftist Cover Girl of the Week.

  5. My $0.02? The judge's demands and Apple's refusal are a front that allows the company to save face and customers. Behind the scenes, it can be a whole 'nuther development. Apple screwed it together, they know how to take it apart again…

  6. Agree with WN. There are a multiplicity of ways to do it. What Apple DOESN'T want to do is hand over the keys to the kingdom (so to speak) to .gov…

  8. Because gentlemen want to read everyone's "mail" in a metaphorical sense. They can already read your e-mail and your phone is encrypted with RC-4, which was broken 20 years ago. What's in your i-phone is beyond their reach and they want it.

  10. The government can have the encrypted data (because they have that), the court can order Apple to write software to build a back door and Apple can begin that process — and it can take them 20 years to comply. There are many games that can be played.

  11. If you do it once, there is court precedence. It's not precisely "fruit of the poisonous tree", but close to it. 21 years at the Orange County District Attorney's office and many cross designated federal cases has taught me that once it's out, it's out. Therefore the encryption is useless.

  12. There aren't, Old NFO, which is why NSA won't give it to FBI. The court will require Apple to explain HOW they decrypted and it will end up as a court record. Even if it's put under seal, the seal can be broken.

    If Apple capitulates, best not encrypt anything and just leave it wide open. That's not what their customers want and they're a private company. There are implications that arch to all other telecom companies and tech storage systems that rely on hard encryption. What I'm currently doing at Univ N. Tex has a lot to do with this.

  15. James Orwell and his 'Big Brother' are coming to reality. If the NSA can break the encryption anyway, why would Apple have to move. They can break into any phone no matter where Apple is located. Or do they HAVE to go through Apple to do it? At any rate, I do not want the government looking into anything at anytime in my life. Even at the expense of terrorist secret communication. There are other ways to spy on them.

  16. I'm sorry but this information is needed so why don't Apple just give it to them? I appreciate nobody else wants big Brother watching every single thing they do but really, is anyone interested in what everyones got hidden on their iPhone? What's the worse somebody could see? topless pics, saucy chat, what? When it comes to the likes of terrorists then the FBI need to get into his bloody phone. I'm sure this sort of thing can be done already and its all bluster and hype. Call Bond.

  18. Apple claims that they CAN'T give it to them because the cyphers don't have a 'back door'. They have told the courts that they will have to write a program that will crack their own cypher.

    The big question is whether or not to believe them.

Comments are closed.