Why the FBI is demanding Apple hack into an iPhone - and why Apple says it's a terrible idea
The Cupertino company has reacted furiously.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has published an extremely strongly worded letter, calling the demand "chilling," arguing that it "would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect."
So what's the big deal?
This was sparked by the San Bernardino mass shooting
First, some background on the case.
FBI investigators are trying to access data on the phone of one of the two San Bernardino shooters, who killed 14 people and injured 22 more in a mass shooting in California in December. They're looking to work out how the two were influenced by Islamist terrorist groups, according to The Guardian.
As such, the FBI has taken Apple to court to try and get its help in unlocking the phone. It isn't trying to get Apple to remove the encryption on the device altogether. It is trying to get Apple to create software that bypasses the limit on the number of passcode attempts you can enter before the device auto-wipes - which would let investigators brute-force access to the device by trying every possible combination.
A US magistrate ordered Apple to assist the FBI in this on Tuesday.
Apple has indicated it intends to appeal - for reasons we'll get to shortly.
There's an ongoing war over privacy and lawful access to data
In the years following NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's revelations about the US government's mass surveillance programs, there has been a heightened awareness of privacy issues, and moves to strengthen protections on consumer products.
Apple has been one of the strongest voices in support of this move, and all new iPhones and Apple devices are now encrypted by default.
This has, predictably, infuriated some in law enforcement, who argue that vital evidence is "going dark." (Note: A recent Harvard study claims that rather than "going dark," investigators have more evidence at their fingertips than ever before.)
James Comey, director of the FBI, is an advocate for backdoors into encryption products to allow law enforcement access when required, and there have also been legislative calls to mandate encryption backdoors.
Technologists and privacy advocates are strongly resisting this. There are a number of arguments against encryption backdoors, including that they would be liable to abuse by malicious third-parties, that they would be ineffective because the criminals they intend to catch would simply switch to uncompromised encryption tools, and that it would set a dangerous precedent for authoritarian regimes to demand backdoor access from tech companies so they can crack down on activists and dissidents.
Apple is angrily rejecting this "overreach by the U.S. government"
Let's get back to the San Bernardino case. What the FBI is asking for perhaps isn't a backdoor in the traditional sense - it's not an extra encryption key held in escrow that would let investigators immediately decrypt the iPhone data they're after.
Cook says what the FBI is asking for does not currently exist, and Apple would have to make it. "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. In the wrong hands, this software - which does not exist today - would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone's physical possession."
He argues that complying will make ordinary people "less safe." In his words (emphasis ours):
The government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that's simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices. In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks - from restaurants and banks to stores and homes. No reasonable person would find that acceptable.
The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers - including tens of millions of American citizens - from sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals. The same engineers who built strong encryption into the iPhone to protect our users would, ironically, be ordered to weaken those protections and make our users less safe.
We can find no precedent for an American company being forced to expose its customers to a greater risk of attack. For years, cryptologists and national security experts have been warning against weakening encryption. Doing so would hurt only the well-meaning and law-abiding citizens who rely on companies like Apple to protect their data. Criminals and bad actors will still encrypt, using tools that are readily available to them.
The Apple CEO then describes the demand as a "dangerous precedent," which would grant the US government "the power to reach into anyone's device to capture their data. The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone's microphone or camera without your knowledge."
He concludes: "While we believe the FBI's intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products. And ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect."
Activists are rallying in support of Apple
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a civil liberties group, is supporting Apple. It says it worries that the FBI's demands set a precedent, and if Apple is forced to create the code then it will be used again and again.
Opsahl adds: "The U.S. government wants us to trust that it won't misuse this power. But we can all imagine the myriad ways this new authority could be abused. Even if you trust the U.S. government, once this master key is created, governments around the world will surely demand that Apple undermine the security of their citizens as well."
So what happens now?
CEO Tim Cook has made it clear his company is "opposing" the order, because "we feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the U.S. government."
Now comes a (likely lengthy) legal showdown between the FBI and Apple - one that privacy activists and law enforcement will be watching extremely carefully.
Here's the full letter from Apple:
February 16, 2016
A Message to Our CustomersThe Need for Encryption
Smartphones, led by iPhone, have become an essential part of our lives. People use them to store an incredible amount of personal information, from our private conversations to our photos, our music, our notes, our calendars and contacts, our financial information and health data, even where we have been and where we are going.
All that information needs to be protected from hackers and criminals who want to access it, steal it, and use it without our knowledge or permission. Customers expect Apple and other technology companies to do everything in our power to protect their personal information, and at Apple we are deeply committed to safeguarding their data.
Compromising the security of our personal information can ultimately put our personal safety at risk. That is why encryption has become so important to all of us.
For many years, we have used encryption to protect our customers' personal data because we believe it's the only way to keep their information safe. We have even put that data out of our own reach, because we believe the contents of your iPhone are none of our business.
The San Bernardino Case
We were shocked and outraged by the deadly act of terrorism in San Bernardino last December. We mourn the loss of life and want justice for all those whose lives were affected. The FBI asked us for help in the days following the attack, and we have worked hard to support the government's efforts to solve this horrible crime. We have no sympathy for terrorists.
When the FBI has requested data that's in our possession, we have provided it. Apple complies with valid subpoenas and search warrants, as we have in the San Bernardino case. We have also made Apple engineers available to advise the FBI, and we've offered our best ideas on a number of investigative options at their disposal.
We have great respect for the professionals at the FBI, and we believe their intentions are good. Up to this point, we have done everything that is both within our power and within the law to help them. But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.
Specifically, 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. 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 FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.
The Threat to Data Security
Some would argue that building a backdoor for just one iPhone is a simple, clean-cut solution. But it ignores both the basics of digital security and the significance of what the government is demanding in this case.
In today's digital world, the "key" to an encrypted system is a piece of information that unlocks the data, and it is only as secure as the protections around it. Once the information is known, or a way to bypass the code is revealed, the encryption can be defeated by anyone with that knowledge.
The government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that's simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices. In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks - from restaurants and banks to stores and homes. No reasonable person would find that acceptable.
The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers - including tens of millions of American citizens - from sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals. The same engineers who built strong encryption into the iPhone to protect our users would, ironically, be ordered to weaken those protections and make our users less safe.
We can find no precedent for an American company being forced to expose its customers to a greater risk of attack. For years, cryptologists and national security experts have been warning against weakening encryption. Doing so would hurt only the well-meaning and law-abiding citizens who rely on companies like Apple to protect their data. Criminals and bad actors will still encrypt, using tools that are readily available to them.
A Dangerous Precedent
Rather than asking for legislative action through Congress, the FBI is proposing an unprecedented use of the All Writs Act of 1789 to justify an expansion of its authority.
The government would have us remove security features and add new capabilities to the operating system, allowing a passcode to be input electronically. This would make it easier to unlock an iPhone by "brute force," trying thousands or millions of combinations with the speed of a modern computer.
The implications of the government's demands are chilling. If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone's device to capture their data. The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone's microphone or camera without your knowledge.
Opposing this order is not something we take lightly. We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the U.S. government.
We are challenging the FBI's demands with the deepest respect for American democracy and a love of our country. We believe it would be in the best interest of everyone to step back and consider the implications.
While we believe the FBI's intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products. And ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.
Tim Cook