Letter from Apple to their customers (a must read)

[JamesG]

I think this is being used as a... a... I donno the metaphors fail me. Its being used as a lever to force Apple to install a remote back door on their phones, so that the gub'ment can go in and access data etc.

The ifone is in hands of the FBI. They have all the metadata, location, text and internet traffic it has sent or received. The NSA can just extract the physical RAM, and if their brain trust and billions of black funds can't create a way to bit wise extract the data and then unencrpyt it then I as a taxpayer am pissed.

So either they are lazy/incompetent or they are just trying to use it to bust Appul down and get them to comply... publicly. Maybe even just give Cook and Co. the public cover to say that they resisted it for as long as they could but even the richest Corporation in the world couldn't fight the Feds.

To double up my tin-foil. Mebe they's already done so, and all this is just theatrics to make bad guys think iPhones are secure, so that they will all start chattering away about their dastardly plans...

 

[JoKeR50]

I think you need to reread my comment. I don't think the FBI should be given the firmware that "doesn't exist" and I did not say it was ok for the courts to force them to do anything. I simply said Apple should use the capability they already possess to unlock the phone on their terms. Do you honestly believe that Apple has no way to get into the phone? Probably think the unemployment rate is 5% too...

First problem with this is chain of custody. Second problem is the capability they already have will not unlock the phone. They themselves say they can not do it and would have to code an "update" to ios that would somehow disable all security function. I believe them on this because if they could it would be a huge PR nightmare. Would you use a phone to secure your very valuable, and potentially embarrassing information, when you know it can be hacked into at any moments notice? I would not.

In the end the FBI should turn the phone over to a mainland Chinese middle school computer class, those f'er could get into it in like 20 minutes, just ask Sony...

 

[cullen1780]

But it will save lives.

 

[mkdhotrod]

But it will save lives.

Children's lives!!!!!

 

[mkdhotrod]

I mean... are we all not still mad that the NSA literally keeps our data from emails and phone calls?

 

[alnen]

I've never liked Apple, but this has me reconsidering. If this stands, and Apple is essentially raped by the gov and forced to compromise the system, the terrorists win. Yet again. They are defeating what America is via self destruction. We allowed ourselves to be subject to body scans and patdowns by the tsa. We allowed ourselves to be surveilled by the nsa. We allowed the patriot act to sail through. This trend can be traced back much further, but the point still stands. Fear is what justifies these intrusions, and the gov takes full advantage every single time to grow its overbearing self.

I'm not afraid personally. I don't care if the fbi never gains access to that phone. My family's security is my responsibility, fbi need not apply. I do care if the gov forces this issue and crushes one of our few remaining avenues of privacy. Let's not lose what we've got left. It's not much as of late, but it's why we're the best nation on earth.

 

[JamesG]

That we are even talking about this means its already too late. The American people have been conditioned to trust and look to Government for solutions and security. It is now the first thing they think of when faced with a problem.

 

[Horsepowerfarms]

Trust me, with Apple it's not about looking out for us. All they care about is profits and they knew this story would be big news and the consumers would think they are a bunch of stand-up guys. They could unlock the phone in question only and comply with the courts order and assist in looking for more bad guys. I'm not a fan of giving big brother more access into our lives than they already have but Apple could do it for just that phone only without giving them a blank check.

 

[JamesG]

But it won't be for just this phone. It will be for the next one, and the one after that, and then they will figure out a way to push the backdoor onto any phone they target, without or without a warrant or consent of the owner.

 

[Horsepowerfarms]

I totally get it. The story has been on Fox News all day and I see both side of the argument. I'm as much for catching all the bad guys as anyone and I'm also a firm believer in keeping what little privacy we may still have out of the hands of Govt. especially a liberal Govt. I just think that since Apple wrote the encryption that the Govt. can't unlock that they could unlock the encryption on just that phone only, in private, and give all of the unencrypted info to authorities so they can do their job without showing them how to do it. Maybe I'm wrong but it just seems like they could unlock one without giving out a master key to all.