FBI Asks Apple To Make iPhones as ‘Hackable’ as Androids

The war against digital privacy just took another leap forward today in America.

Apple is pushing back against a request by the U.S. government to create a “hack” that would allow FBI authorities to unlock a person’s iPhone for security reasons. In an effort to beef up terrorism-related security, the FBI say they need access to stored iPhone data for persons of interest — data that not even Apple can access thanks to a process called encryption.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook is taking a firm stand against the FBI’s request.

“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,” writes Cook. “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 FBI is asking Apple to create a new version of their operating system that would bypass encryption and allow them to install it on any phone discovered during an investigation. Specifically, the FBI claims the new operating system would only be used in the San Bernardino case.

“In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession,” warns Cook. “And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to the [San Bernardino] case, there is no way to guarantee such control.”

This is where the story gets interesting. In order to understand how significant the U.S. government’s request is all you need to know is that it’s unprecedented in U.S. history.

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To date, both Google and Apple phones can only be unlocked if they are not encrypted. Encryption means that data stored on a phone can’t be accessed by Apple or Google even if authorities request that data by warrant.

Yet interestingly enough, encryption is not something everyone has on their phone.

For iPhone users with a 8.0 operating system or higher their phone automatically comes with full disk encryption when they purchase it. Yet for Android users with a 5.0 operating system or higher many phones are only enabled with full disk encryption if they activate it, which can hinder performance. It was estimated that as of November 2015 only 25 percent of Android phone users were using a 5.0 operating system or higher.

The implications of potentially low numbers of encrypted smartphone users, coupled with the FBI’s request to bypass encryption for iPhone users, is really quite astonishing.

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The reality is that the U.S. government has likely been unlocking both Google and Apple phones when it can. But now it wants to do Apple what it has probably been doing to Google on a larger scale.

The question then becomes, not whether unlocking a phone may be helpful in legal cases, of course it may be. But rather, as Cook aptly points out, what happens if the “hack” to unlock an encrypted phone is leaked into the wrong hands and criminals use it to steal personal financial data or a home address.

If you think this is a far fetched reality, think again. Look no further than the countless documentaries outlining famous hacking cases, how they were executed, and the criminals involved.

What are your thoughts on whether the FBI should be allowed to unlock Apple or Google phones for security reasons? Share them in the comments below.