The federal government is still investigating the mass shooting in San Bernardino which occurred this past December. The latest update, it is reported that authorities want access to information stored on Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone, however, the situation has sparked a battle with Apple to obtain the suspect’s info.
On Tuesday, Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym of the Federal District Court for the District of Central California ordered Apple to create a software that would act as a skeleton key, of sorts, that could unlock the iPhone. Except, later that day, CEO Timothy Cook released a statement explaining why Apple refuses to comply. Basically, he said that it’s not the government’s business and the software doesn’t even exist.
“We have great respect for the professionals at the FBI, and we believe their intentions are good. Up to this point, we have done everything that is both within our power and within the law to help them. But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.
Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.”
On top of that, they feel that the government is being misleading as to what they plan to do with the software, because it will be able to open more than one phone– despite what the government is advertising. Allowing the government to access such delicate information also poses a threat to data security.
“Some would argue that building a backdoor for just one iPhone is a simple, clean-cut solution. But it ignores both the basics of digital security and the significance of what the government is demanding in this case.
In today’s digital world, the “key” to an encrypted system is a piece of information that unlocks the data, and it is only as secure as the protections around it. Once the information is known, or a way to bypass the code is revealed, the encryption can be defeated by anyone with that knowledge.”
United States attorney for the Central District of California, Eileen M. Decker, however, vows that justice will come in the form of Apple’s impending compliance. “We have made a solemn commitment to the victims and their families that we will leave no stone unturned as we gather as much information and evidence as possible. These victims and families deserve nothing less.”
You can read the full letter on Apple’s site.
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Source: http://www.apple.com/customer-letter/, http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/02/18/technology/apple-timothy-cook-fbi-san-bernardino.html?referer=
