Apple

Warrant-Proof Places →

March 13, 2016 · 10:13

Jonathan Zdziarski:

We, as everyday Americans, should also encourage the idea of warrant proof places. The DOJ believes, quite erroneously, that the Fourth Amendment gives them the right to any evidence or information they desire with a warrant. The Bill of Rights did not grant rights to the government; it protected the rights of Americans from the overreach that was expected to come from government. Our most intimate thoughts, our private conversations, our ideas, our -intent- are all things our phone tracks. These are concepts that must remain private (if we choose to protect them) for any functioning free society. In today’s technological landscape, we are no longer giving up just our current or future activity under warrant, but for the first time in history, making potentially years of our life retroactively searchable by law enforcement. Things are recorded in ways today that no one would have imagined, even when CALEA was passed. The capability that DOJ is asserting is that our very lives and identities – going back across years – are subject to search. The Constitution never permitted this.

Craig Federighi on iOS Security for the Washington Post →

March 7, 2016 · 09:57

Craig Federighi:

Security is an endless race — one that you can lead but never decisively win. Yesterday’s best defenses cannot fend off the attacks of today or tomorrow. Software innovations of the future will depend on the foundation of strong device security. We cannot afford to fall behind those who would exploit technology in order to cause chaos. To slow our pace, or reverse our progress, puts everyone at risk.

This is not just about protecting the data on our phones. This is about keeping all of our lives and data private, which we store on miniature computers in our pockets.

FBI & DA Misleading Courts and Public for their Own Agenda →

March 6, 2016 · 10:53

Brandon Bailey:

But the idea that Farook might have used the phone to transmit a “lying-dormant cyber pathogen” into county data systems is a new one. Ramos’ office, however, cited it in a court filing Thursday among several other reasons to support the government’s position.

“This was a county employee that murdered 14 people and injured 22,” Ramos said. “Did he use the county’s infrastructure? Did he hack into that infrastructure? I don’t know. In order for me to really put that issue to rest, there is one piece of evidence that would absolutely let us know that, and that would be the iPhone.”

The argument drew condemnation from one software expert who has signed a brief in support of Apple’s position.

“Ramos’s statements are not only misleading to the court, but amount to blatant fear mongering,” independent software researcher Jonathan Zdziarski wrote in a post on his personal blog .

Other security experts who haven’t taken sides also discounted the scenario. “It’s definitely possible, technically, but it doesn’t seem to me at first glance to be likely,” said David Meltzer, a computer security expert and chief research officer at Tripwire, a commercial IT security firm. He said Apple’s iPhone operating system is a relatively closed environment that’s designed so users can’t easily introduce their own programs.

Ramos, meanwhile, said he’d heard about social media posts that mocked the term “cyber pathogen,” which is not generally used by tech experts. “When they do that,” he said, “they’re mocking the victims of this crime, of this horrible terrorist attack.”

Using the victims of a terrorist attack to further their own agenda however, that’s much worse.

Kara Swisher: ‘Apple’s Product Event Will Be Held Week of March 21’ →

February 28, 2016 · 13:37

Kara Swisher:

Attention Apple nerds, investors, media and everyone else who needs to know when Tim Cook’s next product event is going to be held: It’s going to be the week of March 21.

Or to put it another way, it’s not going to be on March 15, the time frame that other outlets previously reported, according to several sources. It is not clear if the event was moved or if this was the timing Apple had always planned.

Update

Confirmed by John Paczkowski and Jim Dalrymple.

The UK’s Proposed Spy Law Would Force Apple to Secretly Hack Its Phones Too →

February 26, 2016 · 14:50

Danny O’Brien:

You don’t need to look to Beijing—or even the future—to find the answer to that question. The newly proposed British spying law, the  Investigatory Powers Bill (IPB), already includes methods that would permit the British government to order companies like Apple to re-engineer their own technology, just as the FBI is demanding. Worse, if the law passes, each of these methods would be accompanied by a gag order. Not only would Apple be expected to comply, but the IPB would insist that Tim Cook could not tell the public what was going on without breaking UK law. At least in the current fight between Apple and the US government, we’re having the debate out loud and in public.

I’m always reminded of ‘V for Vendetta’ when I read about the absurdity of UK laws, and little to no public outcry.

Apple Files Motion to Vacate the Court Order to Force It to Unlock iPhone →

February 26, 2016 · 01:04

Matthew Panzarino:

Apple’s reasoning in the brief rests on three pillars. First, that forcing Apple to write code that weakens its devices and the security of its customers constitutes a violation of free speech as protected by the Constitution.

Second, that the burden the FBI is putting on it by requesting that Apple write the software and assist in unlocking the device is too large. Apple argues that it would have to create the new version of iOS, called GovtOS, which requires coding, signing, verification and testing. It would then have to create an FBI forensics laboratory on site at its headquarters and staff it. The burden would then extend to what Apple views is the inevitable onslaught of additional devices that would follow after the precedent was set.

In addition to free speech, Apple argues that the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process clause prohibits the government from compelling Apple to create the new version of iOS. Apple argues that there is no court precedent for forcing a company to create something new, like GovtOS.

“But compelling minimal assistance to surveil or apprehend a criminal (as in most of the cases the government cites), or demanding testimony or production of things that already exist (akin to exercising subpoena power), is vastly different, and significantly less intrusive, than conscripting a private company to create something entirely new and dangerous. There is simply no parallel or precedent for it,” reads the filing.

Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Will Discontinue Providing iPhones for Employees →

February 25, 2016 · 15:59

Maricopa County Attorney’s Office:

Effective immediately, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office will discontinue providing iPhones as option for replacements or upgrades for existing employees. Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery announced the decision today, first communicated to applicable staff on Sunday, February 21, citing Apple’s recent refusal to cooperate in unlocking an encrypted iPhone used by individuals involved in the recent San Bernardino shootings.

“Apple’s refusal to cooperate with a legitimate law enforcement investigation to unlock a phone used by terrorists puts Apple on the side of terrorists instead of on the side of public safety,” Montgomery said. “Positioning their refusal to cooperate as having anything to do with privacy interests is a corporate PR stunt and ignores the 4th Amendment protections afforded by our Constitution.”

There are currently 564 smartphones deployed throughout the office, 366 of which are iPhones.

This just gets better and better.

How Is the Public Supposed to Understand Apple’s Fight for Privacy
if the Reporters Themselves Don’t Have a Grasp on the Issue? →

February 23, 2016 · 15:37

William J. Bratton and John J. Miller:

The phone in the San Bernardino case stopped uploading data to the cloud about six weeks before the killings. That suggests there may be information inside the device that was deliberately concealed. That could include the identities of terrorists who influenced or directed the attack; such information, if pursued, could prevent future plots. Or the iPhone might contain nothing of value. It is Apple’s position that we should never know.

The phone could also contain the plans of the Death Star, but since the FBI screwed this up, we might not ever find out if they’re on there.

Justice Department Wants to Force Apple to Unlock a Dozen More iPhones →

February 23, 2016 · 15:29

Devlin Barrett:

The Justice Department is pursuing court orders to force Apple Inc. to help investigators extract data from iPhones in about a dozen undisclosed cases around the country, in disputes similar to the current battle over a terrorist’s locked phone, according to people familiar with the matter.

The other phones are at issue in cases where prosecutors have sought, as in the San Bernardino, Calif., terror case, to use an 18th-century law called the All Writs Act to compel the company to help them bypass the passcode security feature of phones that may hold evidence, these people said.

The specifics of the roughly dozen cases haven’t been disclosed publicly, but they don’t involve terrorism charges, these people said.

This is going to get a whole of a lot uglier before it gets better. If it gets better.

Pew Research Center Poll: 51% Say Apple Should Unlock iPhone →

February 23, 2016 · 01:45

Pew Research Center:

As the standoff between the Department of Justice and Apple Inc. continues over an iPhone used by one of the suspects in the San Bernardino terrorist attacks, 51% say Apple should unlock the iPhone to assist the ongoing FBI investigation. Fewer Americans (38%) say Apple should not unlock the phone to ensure the security of its other users’ information; 11% do not offer an opinion on the question.

I strongly believe that many of these people would change their mind if they knew more about the subject, and the potential consequences.

Among those who personally own an iPhone, views are about evenly divided: 47% say Apple should comply with the FBI demand to unlock the phone, while 43% say they should not do this out of concern it could compromise the security of other users’ information.

Among those who own a model of smartphone other than the iPhone, 53% say Apple should unlock the phone, compared with 38% who say they should not.

That second part is not surprising to me.

How the FBI Fumbled the Ball →

February 20, 2016 · 23:52

John Paczkowski:

The Apple ID password linked to the iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino terrorists was changed less than 24 hours after the government took possession of the device, senior Apple executives said Friday. If that hadn’t happened, Apple said, a backup of the information the government was seeking may have been accessible.

The FBI has claimed that the password was changed by someone at the San Bernardino Health Department. Friday night, however, things took a further turn when the San Bernardino County’s official Twitter account stated, “The County was working cooperatively with the FBI when it reset the iCloud password at the FBI’s request.”

This is either ridiculous or planned. I’m thinking they should know what they’re doing, so the latter seems a better fit. Especially since the iPhone in question has probably little to no relevant information.

The FBI Is Going All in →

February 20, 2016 · 03:26

Katie Benner and Nicole Perlroth:

Apple had asked the F.B.I. to issue its application for the tool under seal. But the government made it public, prompting Mr. Cook to go into bunker mode to draft a response, according to people privy to the discussions, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The result was the letter that Mr. Cook signed on Tuesday, where he argued that it set a “dangerous precedent” for a company to be forced to build tools for the government that weaken security.

Like I said a few days ago, the FBI most probably doesn’t care about Farook’s phone. They’re all in for getting access to all iPhones.

Nobody Apart From the FBI Has Ever Asked This of Apple →

February 20, 2016 · 03:03

Matthew Panzarino:

The Apple executive also noted that no other government in the world — including China — has ever asked it to perform the kind of iPhone cracking that the FBI is asking it to do. But, if it were to comply, those requests would surely not be far behind.

This is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better. I am starting to wonder if the US will not actually make ‘unbreakable’ encryption illegal, to solve all their headaches.

Compromising Apple →

February 20, 2016 · 02:56

Jonathan Zdziarski:

Not only is Apple being ordered to compromise their own devices; they’re being ordered to give that golden key to the government, in a very roundabout sneaky way. What FBI has requested will inevitably force Apple’s methods out into the open, where they can be ingested by government agencies looking to do the same thing. They will also be exposed to private forensics companies, who are notorious for reverse engineering and stealing other people’s intellectual property. Should Apple comply in providing a tool, it will inevitably end up abused and in the wrong hands.

Johny Srouji — One of Apple’s Most Important Executives →

February 19, 2016 · 02:10

Brad Stone, Adam Satariano, and Gwen Ackerman for Bloomberg:

He also stepped into the kind of spotlight he’s avoided since joining Apple in 2008. Srouji runs what is probably the most important and least understood division inside the world’s most profitable company. Since 2010, when his team produced the A4 chip for the original iPad, Apple has immersed itself in the costly and complex science of silicon. It develops specialized microprocessors as a way to distinguish its products from the competition. The Apple-designed circuits allow the company to customize products to perfectly match the features of its software, while tightly controlling the critical trade-off between speed and battery consumption. Among the components on its chip (technically called a “system on a chip,” or SOC) are an image signal processor and a storage controller, which let Apple tailor useful functions for taking and storing photos, such as the rapid-fire “burst mode” introduced with the iPhone 5s. Engineers and designers can work on features like that years in advance without prematurely notifying vendors—especially Samsung, which manufactures many of Apple’s chips.

At the center of all this is Srouji, 51, an Israeli who joined Apple after jobs at Intel and IBM. He’s compact, he’s intense, and he speaks Arabic, Hebrew, and French. His English is lightly accented and, when the subject has anything to do with Apple, nonspecific bordering on koanlike. “Hard is good. Easy is a waste of time,” he says when asked about increasingly thin iPhone designs. “The chip architects at Apple are artists, the engineers are wizards,” he answers another question. He’ll elaborate a bit when the topic is general. “When designers say, ‘This is hard,’ ” he says, “my rule of thumb is if it’s not gated by physics, that means it’s hard but doable.”

The A-series chips are probably Apple’s most important components (or products, depending on how you look at them), without which the iPhone and iPad wouldn’t be what they are today.

‘Go Away’ →

February 18, 2016 · 02:20

Matthew Panzarino:

If I had to bet, Apple is probably working double time to lock it down even tighter. Its reply to the next order of this type is likely to be two words long. You pick the two.

Despite my being delicate in the title, I assume that Panzer had two entirely different words in mind.

Speculation on Whether the Secure Enclave Is Secure →

February 18, 2016 · 02:17

Dan Guido :

I initially speculated that the private data stored within the SE was erased on update but I now believe this is not true. After all, Apple has updated the SE with increased delays between passcode attempts and no phones were wiped. In all honestly, only Apple knows the exact details.

A lot of ideas have been thrown out there over the past few hours. I wonder what the next few will bring — this is all extremely interesting.

FBI and/or Government Vehicles Reported at Apple HQ →

February 17, 2016 · 23:29

Berkeleynerd on Hacker News:

A friend of mine at Apple reported multiple Black Vehicles (Lincoln Town Cars and Escalades) with at least one having MD License Plates at the Apple Executive Briefing Center this morning between 11AM and Noon. Occupants had ear pieces and sun glasses and were accompanied by a CHP (California Highway Patrol) cruiser and three motorcycle escorts.

Tim Cook’s Letter to Apple’s Customers on the Subject of the FBI →

February 17, 2016 · 22:25

Tim Cook:

The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand. 

This moment calls for public discussion, and we want our customers and people around the country to understand what is at stake.

The FBI has been working on Apple to give them access to iPhones for a long time now, and now it appears that they’re using the tragic death of the victims of the San Bernardino attack as a way to force Apple’s hand. Public opinion is a strong weapon, especially if they can get the people behind them.

I’m happy to see Tim and Apple fighting this.

The Guardian’s Click-Baity Article on the ‘Error 53’ Which Bricks iPhones →

February 5, 2016 · 20:42

Miles Brignall, for Guardian Money, details the problems that iPhone users have been having after updating to iOS 9 with ‘error 53’, which results in bricked phones:

Thousands of iPhone 6 users claim they have been left holding almost worthless phones because Apple’s latest operating system permanently disables the handset if it detects that a repair has been carried out by a non-Apple technician.

Technically, a phone which is worth 50% of its original value (see below), is not ‘worthless’.

(…) The issue appears to affect handsets where the home button, which has touch ID fingerprint recognition built-in, has been repaired by a “non-official” company or individual. It has also reportedly affected customers whose phone has been damaged but who have been able to carry on using it without the need for a repair.

Ahh… so it concerns Touch ID — the thingamajig which reads fingerprints — one of the few elements of the iPhone which is extremely important for privacy reasons.

But the problem only comes to light when the latest version of Apple’s iPhone software, iOS 9, is installed. Indeed, the phone may have been working perfectly for weeks or months since a repair or being damaged.

An update to iOS 9 seems to be the cause of the ‘error 53’, which bricks the iPhones.

After installation a growing number of people have watched in horror as their phone, which may well have cost them £500-plus, is rendered useless. Any photos or other data held on the handset is lost – and irretrievable.

I’m sure they watched the whole iOS update process in horror, knowing that it will brick their phone. Enough with the drama already.

Also, a properly configured iPhone (if the user bothered to read the on-screen information when they first started configuring it) has all of its data backed up to iCloud every night (this usually happens at night, when the phone is charging). It their fault if they didn’t bother backing everything up (it’s automatic once an iCloud account is created). Would you go blaming Apple if you lost your phone, making your data ‘irretrievable’? Or if someone stole it? No.

Tech experts claim Apple knows all about the problem but has done nothing to warn users that their phone will be “bricked” (ie, rendered as technologically useful as a brick) if they install the iOS upgrade.

I assume this kind of information is in the EULA/TOS/warranty — see section 1.7 here.

Freelance photographer and self-confessed Apple addict Antonio Olmos says this happened to his phone a few weeks ago after he upgraded his software. Olmos had previously had his handset repaired while on an assignment for the Guardian in Macedonia. “I was in the Balkans covering the refugee crisis in September when I dropped my phone. Because I desperately needed it for work I got it fixed at a local shop, as there are no Apple stores in Macedonia. They repaired the screen and home button, and it worked perfectly.”

He says he thought no more about it, until he was sent the standard notification by Apple inviting him to install the latest software. He accepted the upgrade, but within seconds the phone was displaying “error 53” and was, in effect, dead.

What Antonio describes seem to be a new set of rules in iOS 9, which make sure that the Touch ID part of it is indeed safe to use — if not, the phone is ‘bricked’.

When Olmos, who says he has spent thousands of pounds on Apple products over the years, took it to an Apple store in London, staff told him there was nothing they could do, and that his phone was now junk. He had to pay £270 for a replacement and is furious.

My friend dropped her iPhone once and was also asked to pay 50% of the price of a new iPhone to receive a brand new one — she was also ‘furious’. At herself though.

“The whole thing is extraordinary. How can a company deliberately make their own products useless with an upgrade and not warn their own customers about it? Outside of the big industrialised nations, Apple stores are few and far between, and damaged phones can only be brought back to life by small third-party repairers.

Imagine what would happen if repair shops started replacing the Touch ID buttons with fake ones, which stole the fingerprints and data of the owners. I assume someone would write a ‘Apple fails to protect users’ privacy’ article.

Could Apple’s move, which appears to be designed to squeeze out independent repairers, contravene competition rules? Car manufacturers, for example, are not allowed to insist that buyers only get their car serviced by them.

I am pretty sure it would at the least it would void all warranties if a buyer changed out any of the car’s mechanical systems, which are designed to keep the driver and passengers safe, for an unauthorised third-party system, eg. ESP, ABS, etc.

A spokeswoman for Apple told Money (get ready for a jargon overload): “We protect fingerprint data using a secure enclave, which is uniquely paired to the touch ID sensor. When iPhone is serviced by an authorised Apple service provider or Apple retail store for changes that affect the touch ID sensor, the pairing is re-validated. This check ensures the device and the iOS features related to touch ID remain secure. Without this unique pairing, a malicious touch ID sensor could be substituted, thereby gaining access to the secure enclave. When iOS detects that the pairing fails, touch ID, including Apple Pay, is disabled so the device remains secure.”

She adds: “When an iPhone is serviced by an unauthorised repair provider, faulty screens or other invalid components that affect the touch ID sensor could cause the check to fail if the pairing cannot be validated. With a subsequent update or restore, additional security checks result in an ‘error 53’ being displayed … If a customer encounters an unrecoverable error 53, we recommend contacting Apple support.”

I’m glad Apple is verifying if the Touch ID assembly in my iPhone is authentic and not tampered with. My fingerprints, which are stored in the secure enclave, are used to access my bank accounts and many other (slightly less sensitive) forms of data. Other people also use Touch ID for Apple Pay, which is not yet available over here. I do not want someone to hack me were I to stupidly replace the Touch ID sensor, cable, and what-not, with an unauthorised part. My data is worth much, much more than 50% of the price a new iPhone. That’s why I back it up every day. Or rather, my iPhone does that for me.

I’m quite disappointed with The Guardian deciding to run this article, which is unnecessarily sarcastic, click-baity and misguided. The author obviously doesn’t understand how Touch ID works, why its hardware implementation is so important, and how the whole system is securely integrated with the hardware, designed to keep the users’ fingerprints and data safe.

Three Sources Claim Apple Event on March 15 →

February 3, 2016 · 09:42

Mark Gurman:

Apple is currently aiming to unveil the new 4-inch the iPhone 5se, the iPad Air 3, and new Apple Watch band options at an event on Tuesday, March 15th, according to sources.

John Paczkowski posted his own take a few hours later, confirming the event, and so did Matthew Panzarino.

The new band lines will include multiple new colors for the rubberized Sport bands, new Hermès bands, a ‘space black’ version of the Milanese Loop, and an entirely new band line made of a new material. Supply chain sources indicate that Apple has been testing a series of “high-quality” NATO-style nylon bands for the Apple Watch, but we have not confirmed that this is indeed the new line launching in March.

Mark was the only one of the trio who commented specifically on the new Apple Watch things we can expect. I’m quite interested in the NATO-style bands, as well as a Space Black Milanese Loop for more formal occasions.

Microsoft Buys SwiftKey for $250 Million →

February 3, 2016 · 09:29

Tim Bradshaw and Murad Ahmed for the Financial Times:

Microsoft is paying about $250m to acquire London-based Swiftkey, maker of a predictive keyboard powered by artificial intelligence that is installed on hundreds of millions of smartphones, according to people familiar with the deal.

Jon Reynolds and Ben Medlock, who founded the company in 2008 when both were in their 20s, will each make upwards of $30m from the buyout, which is set to be announced this week.

I have been a SwiftKey user on Android for many years and while the keyboard layout has its own issues, it has one absolutely genius function: the ability to choose two primary languages. This means that the keyboard will auto discover which one we are currently typing in and autocorrect as necessary — there is no need to change the language at all.

I really hope Apple adds this feature to iOS soon — I really miss it, switching between keyboards dozens of times per day. I’m not alone — Federico Viticci also sees this as a problem. The thing is… the technology to overcome this already exists. Please Apple, add it to your to-do list.

Apple’s El Niño →

February 1, 2016 · 09:01

Dr. Drang:

If sales don’t improve with the iPhone 7, I’ll be willing to believe we’ve reached “peak iPhone.” Until then, the only problem I see is that the iPhone 6 was too successful.

Apple Developing Long-Range Wireless Charging for iPhone →

January 29, 2016 · 09:57

Tim Culpan:

Apple is exploring cutting-edge technologies that would allow iPhones and iPads to be powered from further away than the charging mats used with current smartphones, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details are private. The iPhone maker is looking to overcome technical barriers including loss of power over distance with a decision on implementing the technology still being assessed, they said.

Don’t expect this technology this year. I wouldn’t bet on 2017 either.

Apple Financial Results — FY Q1 2016 →

January 27, 2016 · 15:12

Apple PR:

Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2016 first quarter ended December 26, 2015. The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $75.9 billion and record quarterly net income of $18.4 billion, or $3.28 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $74.6 billion and net income of $18 billion, or $3.06 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 40.1 percent compared to 39.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 66 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple sold:

  • 74.7 million iPhones (74.47 million in FY Q1 2015)
  • 16.1 million iPads (21.42 million in FY Q1 2015)
  • 5.31 million Macs (5.52 million in FY Q1 2015)