Amazon Removes Encryption From Fire Tablets →

March 3, 2016 · 22:52

Patrick Howell O’Neill:

While Apple continues to resist a court order requiring it to help the FBI access a terrorist’s phone, another major tech company just took a strange and unexpected step away from encryption.

Amazon has removed enterprise-level device encryption from its Fire Tablet devices. While Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Fire Phone, and Fire TV devices run the same operating system—called Fire OS—the update only applies to the company’s tablets, although this still affects millions of users.


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.


Pair-Lock Your Device With Apple’s Configurator to Effectively
Disable Every Logical Forensics Tool on the Market →

February 23, 2016 · 01:05

Jonathan Zdziarski:

This article is a brief how-to on using Apple’s Configurator utility to lock your device down so that no other devices can pair with it, even if you leave your device unlocked, or are compelled into unlocking it yourself with a passcode or a fingerprint. By pair-locking your device, you’re effectively disabling every logical forensics tool on the market by preventing it from talking to your iOS device, at least without first being able to undo this lock with pairing records from your desktop machine. This is a great technique for protecting your device from nosy coworkers, or cops in some states that have started grabbing your call history at traffic stops.


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.


‘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.