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Over the past week, the main news related to Apple is the demands, first by the FBI, then by the US Attorney General, and finally by Donald Trump to unblock two iPhones of the terrorist, Mohammad Said al-Shamrani, who fired at a US military base in Florida and Apple's refusal to meet these demands. The New York Times writes that Apple does not intend to give up so easily and is preparing for a legal battle with the Department of Justice, but is forced to maneuver between its clients and the Trump administration.
Chronology of events
What will Apple do next?
The publication notes that the company was not ready for such a serious escalation of the conflict. Inside the company, they are skeptical that the FBI has tried all methods of unlocking iPhones with the help of third parties and that it has no choice but to ask for help from Apple.
Apple was already in a similar conflict in 2016 after the San Bernardino shooting, when the company refused to unlock the iPhone for the first time. However, this time Tim Cook is dealing with the Trump administration. The US President has already hinted in his tweet that the government is helping Apple trade, probably in the sense that Apple is left with the Chinese market. However, this time, the friendship between Cook and Trump will be tested, as one of the president's closest associates, Attorney General William Barr, spoke out against Apple.
The crux of the matter is that the US government is actually asking Apple to create a backdoor in iPhones, not just unlock certain phones. Apple has already issued a statement that user privacy is a fundamental value, but chose conciliatory language.
One of the government's main arguments is that it believes that privacy is not an absolute right under the American Constitution. This was announced in October by the already mentioned Attorney General William Barr. NYT believes that a long lawsuit is about to begin for Apple.
Can't you unlock your iPhone without a backdoor?
This is not entirely true. There are expensive but effective tools on the market - Cellebrite and Grayshift, which, according to NYT, the US police have successfully used to unlock iPhones in the past. According to an unnamed source, the terrorist owned an iPhone 5 and iPhone 7+. These devices were released in 2012 and 2016. It turns out that the iPhone 5 is even older than the model that the shooter had in San Bernardino in 2016 (iPhone 5c). Experts say that if desired, these iPhones can be jailbroken using third-party tools. Cellebrite and Grayshift declined to comment.
New law?
Recently, Apple has closed many loopholes for law enforcement officers through which they could hack into its products, at the same time, the company complies with the law and provides unencrypted customer data if this data is reasonably requested by law enforcement agencies. Since 2012, Apple has satisfied 127,000 such requests. However, commentators point out that privacy protection is Apple's unique advantage in the market and the company will be its enemy if it abandons it.
As smartphones take on an increasing place in our lives, but tragedies such as in San Bernardino and at the Florida base continue to occur, the contradictions between Apple and the security forces are likely to grow. In 2016, during the conflict over the iPhone shooter in San Bernardino, Tim Cook proposed that Congress pass a law that would define the concepts of public and technological safety, so that assistance to law enforcement would be regulated by a separate legal act.
On January 13, 2019, U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced that the Trump administration had resumed negotiations with Congress to work together to create such a law.
Chronology of events
- On December 6, 2019, a terrorist attack took place in Florida, two iPhones were found on the terrorist, the contents of which are needed to investigate his crime.
- On the same day, Apple provided what it believed was the necessary information about the terrorist to law enforcement.
- On January 7, the FBI asked Apple to help unlock the iPhones.
- On January 13, US Attorney General William Barr announced that Apple had not provided the necessary assistance to the FBI.
- On January 15, Donald Trump announced on Twitter that Apple would have to comply.
What will Apple do next?
The publication notes that the company was not ready for such a serious escalation of the conflict. Inside the company, they are skeptical that the FBI has tried all methods of unlocking iPhones with the help of third parties and that it has no choice but to ask for help from Apple.
Apple was already in a similar conflict in 2016 after the San Bernardino shooting, when the company refused to unlock the iPhone for the first time. However, this time Tim Cook is dealing with the Trump administration. The US President has already hinted in his tweet that the government is helping Apple trade, probably in the sense that Apple is left with the Chinese market. However, this time, the friendship between Cook and Trump will be tested, as one of the president's closest associates, Attorney General William Barr, spoke out against Apple.
The crux of the matter is that the US government is actually asking Apple to create a backdoor in iPhones, not just unlock certain phones. Apple has already issued a statement that user privacy is a fundamental value, but chose conciliatory language.
One of the government's main arguments is that it believes that privacy is not an absolute right under the American Constitution. This was announced in October by the already mentioned Attorney General William Barr. NYT believes that a long lawsuit is about to begin for Apple.
Can't you unlock your iPhone without a backdoor?
This is not entirely true. There are expensive but effective tools on the market - Cellebrite and Grayshift, which, according to NYT, the US police have successfully used to unlock iPhones in the past. According to an unnamed source, the terrorist owned an iPhone 5 and iPhone 7+. These devices were released in 2012 and 2016. It turns out that the iPhone 5 is even older than the model that the shooter had in San Bernardino in 2016 (iPhone 5c). Experts say that if desired, these iPhones can be jailbroken using third-party tools. Cellebrite and Grayshift declined to comment.
New law?
Recently, Apple has closed many loopholes for law enforcement officers through which they could hack into its products, at the same time, the company complies with the law and provides unencrypted customer data if this data is reasonably requested by law enforcement agencies. Since 2012, Apple has satisfied 127,000 such requests. However, commentators point out that privacy protection is Apple's unique advantage in the market and the company will be its enemy if it abandons it.
As smartphones take on an increasing place in our lives, but tragedies such as in San Bernardino and at the Florida base continue to occur, the contradictions between Apple and the security forces are likely to grow. In 2016, during the conflict over the iPhone shooter in San Bernardino, Tim Cook proposed that Congress pass a law that would define the concepts of public and technological safety, so that assistance to law enforcement would be regulated by a separate legal act.
On January 13, 2019, U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced that the Trump administration had resumed negotiations with Congress to work together to create such a law.
