Justice Department asserts it could demand source code, signing key from Apple
In the confrontation over the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, the U.S. Justice Department believes it could potentially demand that Apple hand over iOS source code and a signing key, according to a court filing.
The Justice Department made the proposal as a footnote in a recent rebuttal of Apple's arguments in the case, Reuters reported on Tuesday. In the brief, government lawyers said they have so far pursued their current strategy -- asking Apple to build a passcode limit break for the FBI -- because they thought handing over code would be "less palatable" to the company.
"If Apple would prefer that course, however, that may provide an alternative that requires less labor by Apple," the lawyers said.
Source code and a signing key would allow the government to build its own workaround for Farook's phone. It could also allow agencies to slip modified software onto other iOS devices however, and might set a precedent not just in the U.S. but in other countries.
Apple has already expressed concerns about a self-made workaround for iOS security, arguing for instance that it would compromise the platform, and that the U.S. can't compel a company to write new software.
One source told Reuters that the Justice Department doesn't intend to press the idea of seizing code. A source close to Apple, meanwhile, claimed that the company isn't that worried, and won't try to argue the matter in a response to the DOJ brief due later today.
The Justice Department made the proposal as a footnote in a recent rebuttal of Apple's arguments in the case, Reuters reported on Tuesday. In the brief, government lawyers said they have so far pursued their current strategy -- asking Apple to build a passcode limit break for the FBI -- because they thought handing over code would be "less palatable" to the company.
"If Apple would prefer that course, however, that may provide an alternative that requires less labor by Apple," the lawyers said.
Source code and a signing key would allow the government to build its own workaround for Farook's phone. It could also allow agencies to slip modified software onto other iOS devices however, and might set a precedent not just in the U.S. but in other countries.
Apple has already expressed concerns about a self-made workaround for iOS security, arguing for instance that it would compromise the platform, and that the U.S. can't compel a company to write new software.
One source told Reuters that the Justice Department doesn't intend to press the idea of seizing code. A source close to Apple, meanwhile, claimed that the company isn't that worried, and won't try to argue the matter in a response to the DOJ brief due later today.
Comments
Is this Hitler's Germany?
Yes, and the president is pretty supportive of it.
“Apple’s rhetoric is not only false, but also corrosive of the very institutions that are best able to safeguard our liberty and our rights: the courts, the Fourth Amendment, longstanding precedent and venerable laws, and the democratically elected branches of government.”
What's not obvious to many is that those institutions, as history shows, are actually not always the best way to safeguard our liberty and rights. In fact this present situation is an example of why we ought to be careful about these institutions we're asked to trust. This is why we need things like strong encryption.
FBI director James Comey should be fired for starting this grandstand hostile attack on Apple – treating them like a criminal organization. Obviously, Tim Cook has no choice but to fight this.
The damage Comey has done to the FBI's reputation, much less the entire relationship tech companies will have with them going forward is incalculable. I mean, why would any big tech company want to "cooperate with", much less ever trust this gov't bureaucrat prick again?
So much for the talks and preaching of DEMOCRACY to the rest of the world!!!
Tim should start talking company inversions and the lost tax revenue.
We actually need to be careful about championing or appealing to democracy in this because it can backfire. In fact, I think one of the reasons the FBI went public with this case was because they thought they had (and to some extent still may have) a "slam dunk" appeal to emotion case with the general public that would ultimately force Apple into capitulating.
Apple is, rightly, taking a principled stand here regardless of what the majority may want or think. They are right in this case and right and wrong are not subject to popular vote. I hope they stand firm even if the tide of public opinion turns against them. That, not democracy, is the basis and foundation of liberty.
Not sure it can stop the demand, but it could provide legal protection from actually getting it. I'm not sure how international law handles these things.
The FBI's actions are a repeat of the McCarthyism era - coercion, intimidation and deceit.