Apple, The FBI And iPhone Encryption: A Look At What's At Stake

---

Doesn't give a very full set of reasons, does it. What if once the backdoor has been created, will be the US response if China, Russia or some other anti-American country demands access?

I was watching NewsHour earlier (after the original post), where one of the "Talking Heads" brought up the point that if Apple said "Sure, we'll do this for you this one time.", that tells China/Russia/Whoever that it CAN be done, so even if Apple tells THEM no it doesn't matter if they just find someone else to try.

---

I think it's like this: Software could be written (probably already exists) to allow more than ten tries at the password before the phone's data is destroyed. The FBI could then crack the password by using a sequencer that ran thru all possible password combinations. Other Apple phones would not be affected.

There are 2 fears.

If it is proven to work one time then Apple employees could be held for ransom until it gave the software to our enemies.

If it were done just this once, then when would it end; the requests would just keep on coming. Apple can't be in the counter espionage game.

Perhaps they have already done it and are practicing dis-information for the reasons I gave above.

And the 'issue' that started the whole thing is: Some/All of the phones can be set to wipe after 10 failed attempts. The F.B.I. is not certain what this particular phone's setting is. They have a court order, telling Apple to help bypass the setting (whether or not it's there) by decrypting the phone.

Of course, they are also not certain there's any information 'of value' on the phone (and it's based on "not connecting to backup for over a month", at that); but since there's a court order involved, someone did a good job convincing a judge that looking through someone else's information served the public.

---

... someone did a good job convincing a judge that looking through someone else's information served the public.

Am I incorrect to say
the (an) issue has not been "looking at someone's information"
but "looking at someone's information without reasonable cause and without a warrant"?

---

Capitalize on this good fortune, one word can bring you round ... changes.

Am I the only one here that sees what is the end game? The FBI and all other agencies want to get data from third parties. Why? Because data that a third party has isn't subject to the protection of the fourth amendment. They can do an end run and get it with a simple subpoena and not with a court warrant.

It is be time for a constitutional convention to close that loophole.

---

The most likely fact is that while the CEO of Apple is strongly against putting such loopholes into their software, is the same possible to say when it comes to Microsoft?

Are the updates coming from Microsoft giving both developers and other users a blank check when it comes to the possibility of access to certain information?

Where are the back door or trap door being found or located here?

Should we trust Norton Internet Security or AVG, or should we rather rely on a better Spy Detection Software which most likely should be able to know what you are doing as well as those things other people could be happening to do with respect to yourself?

I watched the first part of the interview with the NSA chief.

He is an admiral, but right now I do not recall which title I should be using here.

Perhaps something like the head in charge of the NSA.

If you did not know, these military men are part of the U.S. government in charge of cybersecurity and code handling.

The already mentioned point is that secrets being kept in a safe is not for everyone to see.

Rather the point is about the need for encrypting information in order for its contents to be sent across the web.

In old days, other ways of means of doing such things were being used, including couriers for personal deliveries, but in a world having a demand for speed and efficiency, the web is the now the easiest way of doing these things.

If you encrypt the sentence "the dog jumps over the lazy cat", or "the cat jumps over the lazy dog" using PGP, the contents become unreadable.

But if you are using a Public Key for this purpose, most likely other people are able to know this key and is therefore able to decipher the encrypted contents.

The Private Key being used to encrypt the original contents into garbled mess should be the key which should be kept secret.

Both the sender and the receiver of a given message may only be having the Public Key. Neither of them knows the Private Key.

The Private Key is being used to both encrypt as well as decrypt a message, making it unreadable for anyone else.

How do you get Private Keys from Public Keys when using numbers?

As far as I know, neither RSA-1024 or RSA-2048 have been factorized.

Does perhaps the NSA know these factors already and therefore are able to listen in at your conversation?

Or is perhaps information being encrypted across the web in a different way instead?

Should Apple help the FBI break into a work-issued iPhone used by a gunman in the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California?

I say yes.

---

"What If It Wasn't An iPhone? What The Apple/FBI Case Means For The Industry"

---

From the BBC Apple vs the FBI - a plain English guide this is what the FBI are asking for,

The FBI wants to be able to:

The FBI wants Apple to alter what is known as a SIF - System Information File. In this context, the FBI is basically referring to the software that runs on the device. The FBI wants Apple to create a new SIF to place on Farook's iPhone that will allow it to carry out several functions normal iPhones do not allow.

1 Prevent the phone from erasing itself. If certain security settings are enabled, after 10 failed attempts at entering a passcode, an iPhone can erase the personal data on the device. The FBI doesn't want to this to happen on Farook's phone.
2 Automate the process for trying out passcode combinations. Farook used a four-digit passcode, for which there are 10,000 possible combinations. The FBI doesn't want to have to guess them all manually, and so it wants Apple to allow the passcode to be tried electronically. This means the FBI could simply instruct a computer to try every passcode, something that would take just minutes, possibly seconds...
3 …and without unnecessary delay. The iPhone prevents you from entering a passcode for longer and longer periods of time each time you get it wrong. The FBI wants this barrier removed.
4 Control the process, but not know how it's done. This is an interesting line, as it is suggests the FBI is willing to allow Apple to work on the phone at its own HQ, and in a way that doesn't risk the encryption software being released into the world.

Presumably only under a court order.

The public key is only used to generate the private key(s), and if you are really paranoid only for that session.

This is just a game that Apple is playing to suck more profits out of simpletons willing to pay extra for the illusion of privacy.
Apple always has a backdoor into their devices.
The company is willing to use a national tragedy to bolster it's corporate profits.
Tim Cook is a first rate sleazeball, much like Steve Jobs was.

+1

---

Go Apple !! fight for Capitalism and freedom .

Fer gods sake unlock the dam phone they don't need to give them the software to do it , they can , Apple .. that is , it belongs to a terrorist for god sake .

Take the stand they are for any other situation then I would support them but not on this .

The person is dead and it's a criminal investigation ....where's common sense here !!

---

Go Apple !! fight for Capitalism and freedom .

Fer gods sake unlock the dam phone they don't need to give them the software to do it , they can , Apple .. that is , it belongs to a terrorist for god sake .

Take the stand they are for any other situation then I would support them but not on this .

The person is dead and it's a criminal investigation ....where's common sense here !!

+1

Please think about the victim's families.

---

The FBI wants to be able to:

The FBI wants Apple to alter what is known as a SIF - System Information File. In this context, the FBI is basically referring to the software that runs on the device. The FBI wants Apple to create a new SIF to place on Farook's iPhone that will allow it to carry out several functions normal iPhones do not allow.

1 Prevent the phone from erasing itself. If certain security settings are enabled, after 10 failed attempts at entering a passcode, an iPhone can erase the personal data on the device. The FBI doesn't want to this to happen on Farook's phone.
2 Automate the process for trying out passcode combinations. Farook used a four-digit passcode, for which there are 10,000 possible combinations. The FBI doesn't want to have to guess them all manually, and so it wants Apple to allow the passcode to be tried electronically. This means the FBI could simply instruct a computer to try every passcode, something that would take just minutes, possibly seconds...

I think it's the combination of these two considered the biggest risk. If you are able to bypass the "wipe after 10", it then effectively disappears out of the settings. And point 2 allows for quicker brute-force of any pin/password; if you have 'unlimited attempts' it basically says " my stuff is only protected for XX hours after someone starts trying."

---

DOJ Lays Out Its Legal Case For Why Apple Should Help Crack An iPhone

In the new motion, U.S. attorneys argue that Apple "retains the technical ability to comply" with the judge's order and that its "current refusal to comply with the Court's Order, despite the technical feasibility of doing so, instead appears to be based on its concern for its business model and public brand marketing strategy.

---

Latest is Apple says the pass code changed while the phone was in an evidence locker.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/san-bernardino-shooters-apple-id-passcode-changed-government/story?id=37066070
Real smart move. Now they don't have a backup copy. A backup that would not be subject to the auto-wipe! A backup that by now all 10,000 possible codes could have been tried.

So the case boils down to the Famous But Incompetent having to have someone else rescue their incompetent butts from their own stupidity.

---

Latest is Apple says the pass code changed while the phone was in an evidence locker.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/san-bernardino-shooters-apple-id-passcode-changed-government/story?id=37066070
Real smart move. Now they don't have a backup copy. A backup that would not be subject to the auto-wipe! A backup that by now all 10,000 possible codes could have been tried.

So the case boils down to the Famous But Incompetent having to have someone else rescue their incompetent butts from their own stupidity.

I guess No Such Agency has a saying as well:)