Apple lauds own encryption efforts, says hackers are primary iPhone threat

Posted:
in General Discussion
Apple engineers jumped on a conference call with press outlets shortly following Friday's New York court filing to tout the company's encryption efforts, while at the same time making clear that those protocols are in place to protect against hackers, not government intrusion.




According to The Verge, senior Apple engineers detailed the company's unprecedented ability to implement security features at chip level, saying it has the "most effective security organization in the world."

Apple pointed to a number of advanced hardware protections, some of which are detailed in a white paper (PDF link) posted to Apple's website, including Secure Enclave technology built into the A-series system-on-chip designs. Other technical achievements like Touch ID and iCloud-based two-factor authentication were also mentioned, the report said.

A separate report from TechCrunch cites Apple engineers as saying hackers, not the government, are what they model for when designing iPhone security systems. The company is at the center of a contentious debate over consumer device encryption, and more specifically the fine line between national security interests and government overreach.

Earlier today, Apple filed a response in an ongoing New York City court case, arguing the action should be dismissed as federal prosecutors have "utterly failed" to prove the FBI needs assistance in extracting data from a passcode-locked iPhone. Like the recently withdrawn San Bernardino motion, the Justice Department is asserting the All Writs Act to compel Apple's assistance in New York.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    Is it possible to have a federal case involving Apple where the feds aren't automatically the bad guys?  Why on earth are they thinking it's acceptable for them to be able to hack everything we have?  If they want the data so badly, put their tail between their legs, crawl over to the data centers at the NSA and ask them for the data we already know they've stolen from us all.  After all, those two agencies are SUPPOSED to be working together, though we all know they hate each other.  Force their interaction rather than forcing use to give up everything when they already have everything.
    jony0badmonk
  • Reply 2 of 15
    "…hackers are primary iPhone threat" … like those hackers that the FBI is financing to do their dirty work…
    brian greenjbdragonMacProai46jony0calibadmonk
  • Reply 3 of 15
    spacekidspacekid Posts: 183member
    Is it possible to have a federal case involving Apple where the feds aren't automatically the bad guys?  Why on earth are they thinking it's acceptable for them to be able to hack everything we have?  If they want the data so badly, put their tail between their legs, crawl over to the data centers at the NSA and ask them for the data we already know they've stolen from us all.  After all, those two agencies are SUPPOSED to be working together, though we all know they hate each other.  Force their interaction rather than forcing use to give up everything when they already have everything.
    The FBI investigates criminal cases where the evidence and the methods used to obtain the evidence are available for review by the defendants. The NSA is a US intelligence agency whose primes responsibility is to protect the US using methods that could harm the US should they be revealed.
  • Reply 4 of 15

    If the choice is between engineers working for a fat cat hardware corporation and engineers working for an intrusive federal agency I think I have to ask for another pair of options. It's ok. When Apple was elected to be the All-Knowing Oz in charge of defending our Constitution I didn't get a ballot so I'm not under their jurisdiction.

  • Reply 5 of 15
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    They are equally a threat.
  • Reply 6 of 15

    If the choice is between engineers working for a fat cat hardware corporation and engineers working for an intrusive federal agency I think I have to ask for another pair of options. It's ok. When Apple was elected to be the All-Knowing Oz in charge of defending our Constitution I didn't get a ballot so I'm not under their jurisdiction.

    You conveniently forgot the engineers working to get access to your personal information for their own personal gain (that would be the hackers). 

    And, I can't even follow your second sentence, it's all over the place. What are you trying to say?  It seems like you are simultaneously accusing them of being law enforcers (negatively) and rights upholders (positively) but I really can't be sure. 

    MacPromwhitelostkiwicali
  • Reply 7 of 15

    When Apple was elected to be the All-Knowing Oz in charge of defending our Constitution I didn't get a ballot so I'm not under their jurisdiction.

    In that case it is simple don't use Apple products  
    mwhiteRayz2016jony0cali
  • Reply 8 of 15
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member

    If the choice is between engineers working for a fat cat hardware corporation and engineers working for an intrusive federal agency I think I have to ask for another pair of options. It's ok. When Apple was elected to be the All-Knowing Oz in charge of defending our Constitution I didn't get a ballot so I'm not under their jurisdiction.

    WTF are you even saying? Write it in french if you're that incoherent in English. Yes, I do read french; it's my native tongue.
    badmonk
  • Reply 9 of 15
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    foggyhill said:

    If the choice is between engineers working for a fat cat hardware corporation and engineers working for an intrusive federal agency I think I have to ask for another pair of options. It's ok. When Apple was elected to be the All-Knowing Oz in charge of defending our Constitution I didn't get a ballot so I'm not under their jurisdiction.

    WTF are you even saying? Write it in french if you're that incoherent in English. Yes, I do read french; it's my native tongue.
    Well, now that explains things.
  • Reply 10 of 15
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member

    If the choice is between engineers working for a fat cat hardware corporation and engineers working for an intrusive federal agency I think I have to ask for another pair of options. It's ok. When Apple was elected to be the All-Knowing Oz in charge of defending our Constitution I didn't get a ballot so I'm not under their jurisdiction.

    Hey, if you want hackers and govt gaining access to your info without your knowledge, go to Android. But if you want your info private and no one to gain access without your knowledge, go to iPhone. Pssst, the govt should be protecting out constitutional rights, not violating them. 

    One more thing: I didn't vote for the FBI to violate my rights. 
    lostkiwicalibadmonk
  • Reply 11 of 15
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    foggyhill said:
    WTF are you even saying? Write it in french if you're that incoherent in English. Yes, I do read french; it's my native tongue.
    Well, now that explains things.
    You should take care of own your witless ramblings before insinuating anything.



    mac_doglostkiwi
  • Reply 12 of 15
    CMA102DLCMA102DL Posts: 121member
    "those protocols are in place to protect against hackers, not government intrusion."

    I am glad that Apple has the correct perspective on this issue. But let's make sure that government "intrusion "is limited to hardware-level hacks that require physical possession of the device.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    calicali Posts: 3,494member

    When Apple was elected to be the All-Knowing Oz in charge of defending our Constitution I didn't get a ballot so I'm not under their jurisdiction.

    In that case it is simple don't use Apple products  
    Or he could move out of the country.

    seems he has problems with our constitution.
    badmonk
  • Reply 14 of 15
    freerangefreerange Posts: 1,597member

    If the choice is between engineers working for a fat cat hardware corporation and engineers working for an intrusive federal agency I think I have to ask for another pair of options. It's ok. When Apple was elected to be the All-Knowing Oz in charge of defending our Constitution I didn't get a ballot so I'm not under their jurisdiction.

    Please go hang your hat somewhere else until you actually understand the issues as you are obviously clueless and are just polluting this site with nonsensical BS. Thankfully someone out there is trying to protect our individual privacy, and protecting our data from prying eyes.
    badmonk
  • Reply 15 of 15
    vision33rvision33r Posts: 213member
    If they really want the data, the FBI can spend the money to take the iphone apart and extract the SSD and the data directly.  That takes more time and not as easy as connecting to the phone.
    badmonk
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