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Why Are Apple's Competitors Staying Silent On the iPhone Unlocking Fight?
erier2003 writes: A court order forcing Apple to help the FBI access a terrorism suspect's iPhone has drawn responses from leading tech companies, newspaper editorial boards, and security experts. But one major faction is staying largely silent: the computer and smartphone manufacturers who compete with Apple for business and could be subject to similar orders in the future if the company loses its high-profile case. Silicon Valley software firms have universally backed Apple in its fight against the Justice Department, which won a ruling Tuesday from a California magistrate judge compelling Apple to design custom software to bypass security features on an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. But Apple's hardware competitors are staying on the sidelines.
asked phone manufacturers LG, Samsung, and Sony and computer manufacturers Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo (which also owns phone manufacturer Motorola) whether they agreed with the government or Apple in the unfolding legal battle.
None of them also make the OS, they're just the hardware guys. The FBI is asking for a software backdoor.
Google (those guys behind Android) has stood by Apple
There is a backdoor if the device is capable of installing new firmware without unlocking (or destroying the encryption keys) first.
Hence the tweet:
"Simple security rule of thumb: don't build encryption for how the world is today, but how it could be if Donald Trump were President." from Aaron Levie, CEO of Box