Key Apple security expert Jon Callas leaves to take job with ACLU

One of Apple's senior security specialists, Jon Callas, has reportedly jumped ship to work at the American Civil Liberties Union — and for a much smaller salary.

Callas started a two-year stint as an ACLU technology fellow on Monday, Reuters said. While at Apple, he was in charge of a team that hacked into pre-release products to expose any vulnerabilities.

He may be better known, however, for co-founding PGP Corp. and Silent Circle, and being the chief scientist at Phil Zimmermann's original PGP Inc. PGP — Pretty Good Privacy — is one of the most famous encryption standards in use.

At the ACLU Callas is expected to provide input on fairness and transparency in AI, and help fight governments that demand access to tech platforms for surveillance.

The move should, then, indirectly help Apple, which has adopted a tough stance on privacy in the U.S. The company uses strong encryption for both hardware and online communications, much to the chagrin of law enforcement and spy agencies, which have complained about devices and services "going dark" even when there's legal backing for a search.

Some people, like U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, have called on Apple to offer some form of backdoor access, but Apple has resisted, noting that any backdoor would likely be discovered and exploited by criminals and foreign governments.

Most infamously, Apple fought with the U.S. Department of Justice over accessing the iPhone 5c of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook, only for the DOJ to abandon the case when the FBI succeeded with a third-party forensics solution.

Callas could play a role in influencing federal privacy legislation born out of scandals like Equifax and Cambridge Analytica.

20 Comments

stevedownunder 61 comments · 10 Years

About 5 years ago

Can you send him down to Oz, because the Politician's here want to weaken the entire internet security model, apparently they think they can legislate the laws of Mathematics

DAalseth 3025 comments · 6 Years

stevedownunder said:

Can you send him down to Oz, because the Politician's here want to weaken the entire internet security model, apparently they think they can legislate the laws of Mathematics

All kidding aside though, that may be what the ACLU will be having him work on and with. Not just securing their systems, but advising as an expert witness on these matters.

Good for him. It takes a man of integrity to walk away from a top job with a leading company and big salary to match and go do something that pays less, but is the right thing to do.

entropys 4298 comments · 13 Years

stevedownunder said:

Can you send him down to Oz, because the Politician's here want to weaken the entire internet security model, apparently they think they can legislate the laws of Mathematics

The problem with modern parliaments is they are full of lawyers. Overpaid lawyers who have never had a real job outside the political bubble. Serving the people should be a vocation, not a career. In Oz they have even managed to pay themselves extra for being on a committee! And of course, the purpose of this Bill is to spy on the little people, that is, you and me, as the real crims would just add an extra layer of encryption to stimy the legislation.

Shakespeare had it right about lawyers.I should also point out that this guy sounds pretty admirable, even if, ironically, he plans to hang out with a bunch of lawyers.

Rayz2016 6957 comments · 8 Years

DAalseth said:

stevedownunder said:

Can you send him down to Oz, because the Politician's here want to weaken the entire internet security model, apparently they think they can legislate the laws of Mathematics

All kidding aside though, that may be what the ACLU will be having him work on and with. Not just securing their systems, but advising as an expert witness on these matters.

Good for him. It takes a man of integrity to walk away from a top job with a leading company and big salary to match and go do something that pays less, but is the right thing to do.

Absolutely.

Best of luck to him.

chasm 3581 comments · 10 Years

He has probably made plenty of money in his previous positions, and now he will be doing much the same sort of work (enhancing privacy and security) on a larger scale, and giving back to the country. Very happy for him.