williamh

Apple executives say creating Mac Studio was 'overwhelming'

williamh

March 2022

These self-congratulatory things Apple does occasionally should be a bit embarrassing. The Mac Studio looks like a big Mac Mini and it’s the very computer people have requested for years. Apple folks were not psychic when they determined the need and didn’t come up with a revolutionary new design. Good on you for making the Studio Display speakers good. Why is the camera garbage?

I seem to recall Ive or somebody gushing over the shape of the Apple Pencil or something like that. It’s some kind of joke.

Steve Jobs Atari application pulled from auction after authentication controversy

williamh

March 2022

Xed said:

Access to transportation? Possible, but not probable.
Working from home wasn't common then so was this question about driving for work, as opposed to getting a ride to and from work in some way?

Driving for work. The previous question was “Drivers license?”

Most US Cabinet Departments have bought Cellebrite iPhone hacking tool

williamh

February 2022

GeorgeBMac said:

williamh said:

DAalseth said:

rob53 said:

I could care less about whether Apple has one of these devices but I do want to know what kind of procurement justification these government buyers used. In my opinion none of them have any legitimate justification to buy one, especially from a sensitive country like Israel. This requires additional paperwork and high level approval, except for those three-letter agencies that get dark money from Congress. Looking at the list I can't see how any of them received the justification for a hacking tool. I hope someone files a FOIA request for procurement records because I doubt they had any justification for buying them. As for the pharmaceuticals and oil refineries, I could see this hacking tool used to make sure employees aren't stealing corporate information but there's other ways of dealing with that (MDM systems logging all communications made by company devices, which is absolutely legal). Government-procured mobile devices have the same right to access all their devices and shouldn't have to rely on hacking tools, if they're configured properly the system administrator already has all the information they need. This is why certain politicians use personal phones to conduct government business (illegal) to not get caught so easily.

This was my first thought. WTH does Social Security or HUD need with a hacking tool? Can’t be for an investigation because if they suspect fraud then it gets turned over to the Justice Department. And I don’t buy @GeorgeBMac ‘s idea that they would use it for routine IT functions like unlocking a phone when the PW is lost. Talk about using a sledgehammer to kill a spider.

Your assumption that fraud investigations just get turned over to the Justice Department is not correct. Each agency has its own law enforcement office that will investigate. Many of those offices do their own digital forensics work and might have a device like this for criminal investigations involving employees. When the investigations are completed, they could go to the Department of Justice for prosecution.

Searching a person's private property without their consent or a warrant is breaking and entering. Law enforcement can get away with it using a number of excuses (err, sorry, "reasons"), but I doubt if somebody simply claiming to be law enforcement could get away with it.

I'm not referring to "somebody claiming to be law enforcement" but rather to actual law enforcement legally gaining access to a device. You might not like the reasons (sorry, "excuses") but that is beside the point.

If you'll recall, the story is about various government agencies buying Cellebrite devices. One poster was under the impression that the Department of Justice handles all fraud investigations when in fact each of those agencies has its own law enforcement component. Whether that's the best way for the government to do things is also beside the point. That's how it is.