Apple The Icloud Loophole ( Theverge ) - 2147 Words

Mossberg: The iCloud loophole (TheVerge): Walt Mossberg s article highlights the fact that Apple has the ability to decrypt the bulk of data that is uploaded via iCloud backups. Furthermore, Apple has unencrypted and provided iCloud backup data to both the FBI as well as other law enforcement agencies on numerous occasions (once a valid warrant has been issued), according to this article. This article indicates that Apple views iCloud data differently from the iPhone for a variety of reasons:  ¥ Apple claims that the security policies for the phone relate to a physical object which can, therefore, be lost or misappropriated and consequently the physical device requires heightened security protocols;  ¥ Apple indicates that the iCloud†¦show more content†¦If Apple s primary motivators surround data privacy and protection for its customers, then why does it retain the ability to decrypt iPhone backups? Did Apple choose this battle merely to highlight what it deems to be a larger privacy issue or does Apple truly believe that data on an iPhone is more sensitive than data on an iPhone after it is backed up to iCloud? Before proceeding, I should say that on a personal level, irrespective of the position I may have extolled in previous blog posts I think that data privacy and encryption, in particular, are valuable tools that are available to citizens within the digital realm. Specifically, I am not in favor of encryption backdoors, master keys, or â€Å"clipper-style† chips that would allow government intrusion into electronic communications. That being said, it seems a bit disingenuous to argue that modifying the iOS code to remove the timing delay between successive passcode unlock attempts, and to bypass the auto-delete functionality so the Government could launch a brute-force attack against an iPhone somehow places user data in greater jeopardy than putting a bow around a decrypted iCloud backup and delivering it to the Government. Frankly, it seems shocking that more users aren’t distraught by Apple’s past and seemingly future compliance with requests for decryption of iCloud backups. A number of arguments have been raised with respect to