With the increase of terrorism over the past decade, all tech nerds were left wondering when the day would arrive that law enforcement felt entitlement to smartphones encryption files. Well it’s finally happening and Apple is refusing to conform with a court order to break into the iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters.
Tim Cook has stated following through with the court order would jeopardize its clients. Letting the Federal bureau of investigation in would also give cyber-terrorist an easier way in too, he stated.
Police just about everywhere are having a difficult time monitoring terrorists, because contemporary phones, such as the iPhone, make it simpler than ever before to communicate confidentially.
Technology companies are significantly using file encryption to guard your data.
By converting your communications and personal info into a string of ostensibly random letters and numbers, file encryption retains important computer data out from the attentive eyes of hackers and federal government data collectors.
Terrorists are utilizing encryption to “go dark” or simply hide.
When ISIS locates a potential recruit, they shift discussions from direct to person-to-person talking apps that secure messages. Law enforcement are unable to keep track of those messages.
Phones themselves are secured with encryption.
Apple and Google are encrypting information saved on iPhones and Android phones. When police obtain a suspect’s or victim’s device, police have a hard time breaking in if the mobile phone is locked using a passcode.
Which makes evidence seizure hard for law enforcement officials.
Typically, police receive a court-ordered search warrant to seize evidence. Then they approach a tech company and demand to find out a customer’s information. But those court orders are increasingly worthless because many tech companies no longer hold the encryption keys — they couldn’t unlock their customers’ data, even if they wanted to.
You dictate your own encryption keys.
Instead, customers have the keys, in the form of a smartphone passcode. Only you can unlock your iPhone — Apple doesn’t know or store your password.
Law enforcement officials still expect access.
FBI Director James Comey wants tech companies to figure out a way to let in police anyway. Comey suggests Apple (AAPL, Tech30), Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) and others design “doors” into products with a second set of keys for law enforcement.
The tech industry and specialists say those doors certainly are a awful idea.
The world’s top cryptographers issued a joint statement last July, calling the FBI’s attempts “mandating insecurity.” They describe this in binary terms: either data is secured against everyone — or it’s not. 48 companies and 37 civil society groups took a similar stand, worrying that hackers could exploit those doors.
Government can’t regulate encryption anyway.
Encryption is software that’s easy to replicate and share. Much of it is free. Even if law enforcement got the extra access it seeks, terrorists and criminals could just use software or devices made outside the United States. Terrorists acquire illegal assault rifles. They’ll get encryption too.
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