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Apple's "Warrant Canary" Has Died

HughPickens.com writes When Apple published its first Transparency Report on government activity in late 2013, the document contained an important footnote that stated: "Apple has never received an order under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. We would expect to challenge such an order if served on us." Now Jeff John Roberts writes at Gigaom that Apple's warrant canary has disappeared. A review of the company's last two Transparency Reports, covering the second half of 2013 and the first six months of 2014, shows that the "canary" language is no longer there suggesting that Apple is now part of FISA or PRISM proceedings.

Warrant canaries are a tool used by companies and publishers to signify to their users that, so far, they have not been subject to a given type of law enforcement request such as a secret subpoena. If the canary disappears, then it is likely the situation has changed — and the company has been subject to such request. This may also give some insight into Apple's recent decision to rework its latest encryption in a way that makes it almost impossible for the company to turn over data from most iPhones or iPads to police.

6 of 236 comments (clear)

  1. Not completely gone by whoever57 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Apparently (I haven't read the source docs myself), there is some similar language -- suggesting that some type of order has been served on Apple, so the canary is perhaps not dead yet -- just pining for the fjords [yes, I know, not really the correct use of this phrase].

    To date, Apple has not received any orders for bulk data

    What's missing is a specific reference to Section 215, suggesting that a limited Section 215 order has been served on Apple.

    --
    The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  2. Re:There is no "almost impossible" by bobbied · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It either can or can't be done. Almost impossible means it still can be done.

    Encryption is ALWAYS breakable by brute force. Question is how long does it take? Seconds? Hours? Months? Years? Decades? This is usually determined by key sizes. The longer the key, the longer it takes to brute force. (generally)

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  3. Re:There is no "almost impossible" by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    1. Police seize iPhone
    2. Police arrest owner.
    3. Police tell owner to unlock the phone.
    4. Owner refuses.
    5. Police grab finger, press to button/fingerprint reader.
    6. Phone is unlocked.

    What encryption?

  4. Re:Obama is but a puppet by hairyfeet · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I simply think they know what is coming, we are about to hit (if we haven't already) the singularity, that moment in history where the world is completely changed forever, like the invention of the engine and the airplane but the coming one? Its NOT gonna be nice if the "Ayn Randiates" in the halls of power have their way.

    So what is the new singularity? Simple its the day when human labor is no longer needed to maintain and advance the world. Its the day when everything from picking beans to paving roads can all be done by machines that never get paid, never ask for days off, its the corporate idea of heaven!Its the dark reality of John Henry, that no matter how hard you work, even if you work yourself to death, the machine will just keep on working and will run you down without a bit of remorse.

    When that day comes there is really only 3 paths, one of which we partially do now which is 1.- "make work" where you pay somebody for doing a pointless "job". We do that now at fast food joints, if you raised the minimum wage to a living wage and quit letting the corps hand out "how to get government handout" videos to new employees? You'd find within a year all the fast food workers replaced with an automated system that not only wouldn't get paid but would probably have a better track record than the underpaid overworked employees do know when it comes to getting orders correct.

    The second option would be the "Star Trek Socialist paradise" which would be the most humane of the three, basically give everyone a basic wage and let them do what they will with their free time while giving extra benefits and credits to those that choose to "serve the greater good" by devoting themselves to science and medical research. It sounds now but sadly too many greedy bastards at the top would rather burn the forest down than share the trees which brings us to #3 which is what I think all the 3 letter agencies are ramping up for..

    A fascist dictatorship where the elite rule with an iron boot using fear and violence where those at the top commit systematic genocide by forcing the "useless people" to live in ever worsening squalor, probably while claiming they are just "lazy" because they can't compete with the Asian slaves building our electronics. You would need the 3 letter agencies for several jobs in such a shift, to inspire fear and paranoia, to monitor and allow you to remove anybody that could possibly lead the peasants in an uprising, and to get enough dirt on those with weaker stomachs to insure they "get with the program".

    Considering how much we have been seeing the mask fall off when it comes to those in power, how they just ignore any and all promises without fear of punishment and how many in power seem to get almost sadistic glee at the thought of stomping on the poor? Sadly I have a feeling its gonna be the third option. They'll use a major false flag to excuse "extraordinary measures" that will simply never end and get worse...war on terror anyone?

    --
    ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  5. Re:Not Coincidence, it's the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    When the law itself is illegal, breaking it is the only legal thing to do.

    "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech". A law, passed by Congress, stating that you may not say when the government has requested evidence from you is invalid and unconstitutional.

    Law enforcement officers may arrest you for violating that law, but the courts must acquit you and nullify the law. To fail to do so is to verify that the entire system of government is invalid and is no longer in force. That means the constitution has failed and is also no longer in force. Without the constitution, all three branches of the government cease to exist and the people that make up those branches of government are 1) unemployed, and 2) not protected by sovereign law against overthrow or violence.

    This sort of bullshit law should scare the holy living pants out of every government employee, from top to bottom, since it puts them all at risk.

  6. Re:There is no "almost impossible" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You need to understand the problem better. A quantum computer doesn't change the equations, it changes what is being searched, and the class of problem you are searching for.

    WIthout being great with QM, I can tell you that quantum computers can definitely solve the class of NP Complete problems easier, but probably can't solve the set of NP Hard problems. Maybe.

    Given the presence of a quantum computer and a 256 bit key, the question becomes one of "can we recognize a solution when we see it?" based upon the ability to simultaneously test all 256 bits in parallel. Depending upon the class of encryption used, the answer might be "No"

    256 Bits "obviously" refers to symmetric ciphers. And more specifically these days, probably a class of them known as feistel networks, which probably aren't ...very quantum computable, although they are (often) engineered to be hardware friendly.

    If it was 2048 or 4096 or more bits, it's probably referring to asymetric keys -- e.g. RSA. The factoring of numbers -- is very quantum friendly (hence you see a push to DSA algorithms). You'll never see a 256 bit RSA key (I hope) though, because even my desktop can factor something in that size pretty quickly given a sieve.

    The short of it is...

    "a quantum computer probably isn't interesting for a 256 bit key, because it's not the type of problem they know how to recognize" (today, at least).

    If you want to exploit quantum computation, you need a way to recognize a solution immediately when you test it.