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| Reuters: Apple claims to protect customers, but rejects data encryption plans |
Reuters cited six people close to the case on Tuesday, saying that Apple plans to drop the plans after a FBI complaint so iPhone users can encrypt their iCloud backups. This jeopardizes the investigation.
According to Reuters, Apple Corp. made the decision two years ago but has not yet announced. He explains that the company is ready to help the United States police and intelligence agencies, even if it takes a firm stance on key government suits and acts as an advocate for information about its customers.
Last week, the protracted war between security investigators and the desire of tech companies to protect user privacy was again the focus of attention when the US Attorney General (William Barr) rarely took steps and publicly described Apple as Saudi Arabia. Air Force officials opened two Apple devices last month and three Americans were shot in Pensacola, Florida.
US President Donald Trump also endorsed criticism of Apple and accused the company of not opening phones used by "murderers, drug traffickers and other violent criminals." Republicans and Senate Democrats showed similar interest at a hearing last December and threatened to enact laws to provide irreparable evidence of crimes against children.
In fact, Apple has backed up iCloud services of the Saudi government to law enforcement officials, declaring that it refuses to describe them as "not providing any significant support". But what happened behind the scenes was that Apple gave the FBI more support that had nothing to do with any particular investigation.
Reuters cited a current official and three former FBI employees, as well as former and current Apple, saying that Apple had told the FBI two years ago that it wanted iPhone users to encrypt their device's entire backup on iCloud. As part of the hacking prevention plan, Apple is no longer able to open encrypted data. This means that even if the court orders it, Apple cannot clearly send the documents to the authorities.
Government sources said in a secret conversation with Apple shortly afterwards that FBI cyber criminals and operational technology representatives protested the plan, saying they would reject the most effective means available to them to obtain suspicious iPhone users. proof. ,
According to Reuters sources, after these negotiations, Apple decided to withdraw its full encryption plan, but the agency gave no reason for Apple's resignation. However, a former employee of the company told him that Apple did not want to risk an attack by US officials, and that they could be accused of protecting or trying criminals because government agencies were denied access to data that might help them. Can.
An FBI official told Reuters that Apple withdrew the plan because it believed it, but a former Apple official said the company withdrew the plan for other reasons, such as fear that users might forget their passwords. Your data is not accessible.
Reuters quoted three people familiar with the matter, saying that immediately after the decision, Apple asked about 10 programming experts (called Plesio or KeyDrop) to stop the project.