Mikey Campbell
Apple engineers jumped on a conference call with press outlets shortly following Friday's New York court filing to tout the company's encryption efforts, while at the same time making clear that those protocols are in place to protect against hackers, not government intrusion.
According to The Verge, senior Apple engineers detailed the company's unprecedented ability to implement security features at chip level, saying it has the "most effective security organization in the world."
Apple pointed to a number of advanced hardware protections, some of which are detailed in a white paper (PDF link) posted to Apple's website, including Secure Enclave technology built into the A-series system-on-chip designs. Other technical achievements like Touch ID and iCloud-based two-factor authentication were also mentioned, the report said.
A separate report from TechCrunch cites Apple engineers as saying hackers, not the government, are what they model for when designing iPhone security systems. The company is at the center of a contentious debate over consumer device encryption, and more specifically the fine line between national security interests and government overreach.
Earlier today, Apple filed a response in an ongoing New York City court case, arguing the action should be dismissed as federal prosecutors have "utterly failed" to prove the FBI needs assistance in extracting data from a passcode-locked iPhone. Like the recently withdrawn San Bernardino motion, the Justice Department is asserting the All Writs Act to compel Apple's assistance in New York.
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15 Comments
Is it possible to have a federal case involving Apple where the feds aren't automatically the bad guys? Why on earth are they thinking it's acceptable for them to be able to hack everything we have? If they want the data so badly, put their tail between their legs, crawl over to the data centers at the NSA and ask them for the data we already know they've stolen from us all. After all, those two agencies are SUPPOSED to be working together, though we all know they hate each other. Force their interaction rather than forcing use to give up everything when they already have everything.
"…hackers are primary iPhone threat" … like those hackers that the FBI is financing to do their dirty work…
If the choice is between engineers working for a fat cat hardware corporation and engineers working for an intrusive federal agency I think I have to ask for another pair of options. It's ok. When Apple was elected to be the All-Knowing Oz in charge of defending our Constitution I didn't get a ballot so I'm not under their jurisdiction.
They are equally a threat.