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volcan said:

SpamSandwich said:

There is no compromise possible when math is involved. It's either secure encryption or it isn't.

It is not the encryption that is preventing the FBI from getting at the data, it is the auto wipe feature which doesn't involve encryption at all. Encryption keys vary in strength. The large the key size the stronger it is. All encryption can be broken by brute force...eventually. There are also various types of encryption such as AES, RSA and different algorithms such as Elliptic Curve and Symmetrical which offer varying degrees of protection. I believe Apple uses 256 AES on iOS, which on the strong but certainly not absolute.

I consider the 10 and delete and time delays between tries as part of the data protection scheme, which equal in relevance to encryption. Encryption protects the data itself, but the 10 and delete and time delays makes it more difficult to attack the encryption layer in the first place for the regular joe. The US Govt needs to figure ways around it and should be able to. But it is easier for them to use the courts to pressure Apple and set a precedence. The FBI is totally useless. Once they succeed at coercing Apple to remove the 10 and time delays, it will move on to the encryption itself and there is no stopping. This is a very steep slippery slope.

How can the Govt not be embarrassed to admit that it does not have the smarts to get a phone unlocked even with billions of dollars in annual budget. Now they have to come down to coercion, manipulation. More embarrassing is that nobody in Govt will be hold accountable for completely missing and failing to prevent the San Bernardino attack even with the abundance of metadata and social network data from the perpetrators. There is no hope for the CTD or FBI. Incompetence is rampant.

komo said:

komo said:

I Believe the president is OK but, not on this issue. The FBI should do their job as they did before computers came in the making.

Can you trust the government Snowden couldn't

Always check with the Constitution and history. In other words, if you do trust, trust, but verify.

Governments will always use emotions to get you to do things, but we must use our brains.

Our only safety net for data protection is encryption and it has to be unbreakable, no middle ground, otherwise, it would be better not to have it at all. It is worse to have a false sense of security, which can be exploited by governments and hackers.

I think the discussion about "balance" needs to be between the benefits and disadvantages of unbreakable encryption. The benefit of unbreakable encryption is that it provides protection for millions of low abiding Americans and allows the internet to thrive. On the negative, it also allows criminals to keep their communication private and in some cases, they could get away with crimes. But on balance, America benefits more from having unbreakable encryption than not. I think America needs to make a decision on this. It should not be left to few individuals like Obama or Comey.

I think Congressman Issa would be great as Chief of the FBI.

Sadly Obama is not clueless. He knows the kind of war we are fighting and he is the one pulling the strings. This is a war between a corrupt administration and the people it is supposed to serve and keep safe. The Constitution warned us of oppressive governments like this one. We can't even have good, uncompromised encryption to keep our private data secure without having the government feeling like it is entitled to your data. We just need bold companies like Apple that do not take BS to push back. I do want to see how far the government is willing to go with their dirty tactics to get their way with Apple. It is very revealing how dishonest, crafty and nasty the US Govt can be.