Google backs Apple, FBI vs. encryption, Trump tromps in: Here’s what you need to know

[Wireless News]

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/BXAmOaeRfoaVrzHHoFb7Tg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztmaT1maWxsO2g9ODY7cT03NTt3PT EzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/digital_trends_973/8b27777ce5345ef6be3b65d561bf62ef (http://news.yahoo.com/google-backs-apple-fbi-vs-140122965.html)Month after month since Edward Snowden leaked a vast amount of surveillance data collected by the National Security Agency — and started a war between citizens and their own government over digital privacy — Apple CEO Tim Cook and other tech leaders-have taken pro-privacy stances-and-defended-the use of encryption on phones. Here they come again. Law enforcement agencies such as-the FBI have in recent weeks-called for-backdoors into devices like the iPhone to access data, citing cases such as the San Bernardino shootings, which left 14 people dead in December. Now the conversation on privacy and encryption has reached a crucial moment that could set potentially damaging-precedents, domestically and internationally — and once again, the tech world’s leaders are weighing in. To recap the news that has exploded across mainstream media outlets, and stirred almost a million tweets about Apple, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym for the Central District of California ordered Apple to disable the iPhone’s auto-erase function, a feature that deletes a smartphone’s data after 10 failed passcode attempts. This would help the FBI gain access into San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook’s phone to see who he and his wife were in contact with, and to confirm if he has any ties to ISIS, according to the Associated Press. Related: -Tim Cook denounces ‘chilling’ FBI demands Apple doesn’t have the means to disable the auto-erase function, which introduced tougher security measures in iOS 8 following the NSA-leak by Snowden, and Cook immediately responded to the judge’s order via a letter to Apple customers-denying the court order and urging consumers to take a stand for encryption and privacy. While Apple cannot disable the function, Cook says the U.S. government asking Apple to create a backdoor to the iPhone is something the company considers “too dangerous.” “The FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation,” Cook said in the letter. “In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock-any-iPhone in someone’s physical possession.” The most important tech case in a decade The case has been dubbed as the most in a decade by Edward Snowden, who also questioned Google’s silence on the issue. This is the most important tech case in a decade. Silence means @google picked a side, but it's not the public's. https://t.co/mi5irJcr25 — Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 17, 2016 But Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, came through — in defense of Apple. Pichai cited the importance of Cook’s letter in a tweet, and said that “forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy.” 3/5 We build secure products to keep your information safe and we give law enforcement access to data based on valid legal orders — sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016 4/5 But that’s wholly different than requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices & data. Could be a troubling precedent — sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016 Pichai’s statement’s aren’t as forceful-as Cook’s, but they’re hardly unsurprising as Google has been at the forefront of the privacy and encryption conversation,-along with Apple and various other leading tech companies. Related:- Developer pulls Twitter trading app from App Store over privacy fears According to Reuters, White House spokesman Josh Earnest says that the government is not asking Apple to create a new backdoor, but is simply referring to one device in one case. He told a pool of reporters that “the president certainly believes this is an important national priority.” But court records state that Apple needs to write to code to create-a Software Image File the FBI can use on subject-devices it-requires access to. The worry is that this new method would be duplicated in some way, or get into the wrong hands, risking user privacy. “The SIF will be coded by Apple with a unique identifier of the phone, so that the SIF would only load and execute on the subject device,” the court order states. A great divide Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hasn’t wasted time in offering his sentiments on the controversial issue. During an interview on the Fox News program Fox and Friends, Trump backed the courts and said that “we should be able to get into the phone” to find out why it happened and if others were-involved in the December shooting. “To think that Apple won’t allow us to get into [the shooter’s] cell phone?” Trump said. “Who do they think they are? No, we have to open it up.” The sentiment is-shared by the shooting victims’ families and friends. CBS Local reports the family of victim Yvette Velasco criticized the Cupertino company, and finds it “difficult to understand why Apple would not jump at the opportunity to help uncover whatever information the phone may contain.” Related: -Apple CEO Tim Cook pushes back against FBI, court order to hack iPhone But there’s a great deal of support on the other side as well. AppleInsider is reporting that advocacy group Fight for the Future held a rally outside San Francisco’s Apple Store on Wednesday, drumming up support for Apple’s defense for privacy. The organization will stage-nationwide protests outside Apple stores on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Numerous organizations and companies have come out in support of Apple, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Tor Project, Mozilla, DuckDuckGo, and more. And a few of the big players have stayed-mum on the issue, or are at least slow to weigh in, notably Facebook and Microsoft. We’ll keep you updated here as the story develops. Also watch: Google’s new VR headset won’t need a smartphone or PC Please enable Javascript to watch this video



More... (http://news.yahoo.com/google-backs-apple-fbi-vs-140122965.html)