The IT Nerd

Following up on the latest Apple v. FBI fight where the FBI wants Apple to unlock an iPhone 5 and 7 that belongs to a suspect in a terror incident, despite they fact that the FBI has the ability to do this on their own without Apple’s involvement, comes news that the FBI has apparently got the capability to unlock an iPhone 11 which has far higher levels of security than the iPhone 5 and 7 that they want Apple to unlock:

Last year, FBI investigators in Ohio used a hacking device called a GrayKey to draw data from the latest Apple model, the iPhone 11 Pro Max. The phone belonged to Baris Ali Koch, who was accused of helping his convicted brother flee the country by providing him with his own ID documents and lying to the police. He has now entered a plea agreement and is awaiting sentencing.

Forbes confirmed with Koch’s lawyer, Ameer Mabjish, that the device was locked. Mabjish also said he was unaware of any way the investigators could’ve acquired the passcode; Koch had not given it to them nor did they force the defendant to use his face to unlock the phone via Face ID, as far as the lawyer was aware. The search warrant document obtained by Forbes, dated October 16 2019, also showed the phone in a locked state, giving the strongest indication yet that the FBI has access to a device that can acquire data from the latest iPhone. 

So given the facts above, why precisely does the FBI need Apple’s help to unlock an iPhone 5 and 7 given that they’ve unlocked something way more sophisticated from a security standpoint?

They don’t need Apple’s help. This is simply a stunt to get Congress to force companies like Apple to weaken the encryption on smartphones, computers, or anything else so that they can have access to them at any time for any reason. Or put another way, the FBI wants a backdoor into your device. As I have mentioned before, this is a bad idea. And as reports like these come out that show that this is an incredibly cynical attempt to push a political agenda, I would hope that the blowback that results makes those who are pushing this political agenda think twice.

Yesterday a story hit news that the FBI via US Attorney General William Barr is demanding the help of Apple to unlock the phone of a Saudi citizen who went on a deadly shooting last month at a naval air station in Pensacola, Fla. that killed three and wounded eight.

“This situation perfectly illustrates why it is critical that the public be able to get access to digital evidence,” Mr. Barr said. He called on technology companies to find a solution and complained that Apple had provided no “substantive assistance,” a charge that the company strongly denied on Monday night, saying it had been working with the F.B.I. since the day of the shooting.

Here’s what Apple said in response:

In a statement Monday night, Apple said the substantive aid it had provided law enforcement agencies included giving investigators access to the gunman’s iCloud account and transaction data for multiple accounts.

The company’s statement did not say whether Apple engineers would help the government get into the phones themselves. It said that “Americans do not have to choose between weakening encryption and solving investigations” because there are now so many ways for the government to obtain data from Apple’s devices — many of which Apple routinely helps the government execute.

So it seems like we are headed towards another FBI v. Apple fight. But let’s be clear. What this is all about is to ensure that the FBI or any other law enforcement agency or government can access any smart phone for any reason any time they want. While I understand that the FBI among others wants to protect people from any threat that exists, I don’t believe that this gives them the right to say that the rights of citizens get over-ridden because of this. I say that because if you look at Attorney General Barr’s statement, he wants technology companies to “find a solution” to allow him and those underneath him to get whatever it is they want at will. And it’s safe to say that they want backdoors into iOS, Android, or whatever OS they see fit that gets them past whatever security or encryption that the device in question has. Giving any government a backdoor into any OS is a bad idea as governments tend to have pretty poor track records of keeping stuff like that out of the wrong hands. Which means when the backdoor leaks out, we’re all screwed. This is on top of the potential privacy issues that could be at play.

Thus here’s my ask of everyone that is involved. Tech companies and governments need to find some sort of middle ground for situations like this. One where the needs of both sides are represented and nobody, especially you and I, loses. Because having each of them at their respective extreme ends of the spectrum isn’t working for either party. And as a result this fight will simply keep going on and on with no real resolution. Or worse yet, a government will simply take some draconian action to get what they want and inadvertently affect their citizens in a negative way. And neither of those are desirable outcomes.