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San Bernadino D.A. Says Shooter's Phone Could Harbor "Cyber Pathogen" (theguardian.com)

Mr.Intel writes with the Guardian's report that : San Bernadino D.A. has a novel argument for why Apple should be forced to provide the FBI with tools to decrypt the iPhone once used by mass-shooter Syed Rizwan Farook: a "dormant cyber pathogen," he says, could have been unleashed by the county's electronic infrastructure, and only by examining the phone's content can any really be sure. From the article: The questionable claim comes from Ramos's amicus brief in the case, filed with the US District Court on Thursday afternoon. In it, Ramos supports the FBI's argument that Apple should be compelled to build a one-use version of its operating system to load on to the seized phone – used by the mass-murderer, but still technically property of his employer, San Bernardino county – in order to weaken the security and allow the Government to brute-force the shooter's passcode. ... Ramos said: 'The iPhone is a county owned telephone that may have connected to the San Bernardino County computer network. The seized iPhone may contain evidence that can only be found on the seized phone that it was used as a weapon to introduce a lying dormant cyber pathogen that endangers San Bernardino County's infrastructure and poses a continuing threat to the citizens of San Bernardino County'.

11 of 253 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Yesterday's retracted news by Travis+Mansbridge · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You don't have to read the news to know there's no way this is a serious possibility.

  2. Unicorns by whoever57 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Perhaps the phone contains unicorns farting rainbows. I am sure that looking for unicorns would be good reason to crack the phone.

    --
    The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  3. Link to news this is made up by davidwr · · Score: 5, Informative

    Link to Ars Technica version of original story, which was updated to say that it is a non-issue: http://arstechnica.com/tech-po...

    Link to Ars Technica story on the fact that the first story was false: http://arstechnica.com/tech-po...

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  4. Holy Water by kenwd0elq · · Score: 5, Funny

    The ONLY CURE for a "lying dormant cyber pathogen" is for the phone to be boiled in holy water.

  5. Re:Yesterday's retracted news by sumdumass · · Score: 5, Informative

    Think of a computer illiterate trying to sound as smart as possible talking about a virus for the first time. If you substitute "trojan virus" for "lying dormant cyber pathogen", it sounds a lot more realistic.

  6. Re:Lolwut by Barny · · Score: 5, Funny

    Could these spearphishing viruses use the IoT to vector into self-driving cars and thus, synergize with illegal 3d printer technology?

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    ...
    /me sighs
  7. Re:Yesterday's retracted news by Trax3001BBS · · Score: 5, Funny

    Asian people will eat anything. They are disgusting.

    Tic

    We eat what keeps us alive. Asians have an odd diet due to what's available, Japanese eat anything out of the sea, and the United States will eat anything disguised as meat.

  8. Re:Anyone's Phone... by aralin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You remind me of the people who were so afraid of vaccines harming their kid, they didn't let the doctor vaccinate him and then the kid drowned in their backyard pool, because drowning is still actually the #1 cause of children under 5 dying.

    You are so afraid of the terrorists trying to kill us by poisoning our water, that we spend trillions on trying to prevent it, which forces us to try to save a million dollars by switching a water source and poisoning water for tens of thousands of people.

    You, uninformed citizen, are the number one leading cause of death, suffering and loss of freedom.

    --
    If programs would be read like poetry, most programmers would be Vogons.
  9. Terrorists, drug dealers, and pedophiles by phorm · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yup. Terrorists kill people. Drug dealers kill people or deal drugs which kill people. Pedophiles abuse children.

    And you know what, the authorities and governments fucking LOVE to use those guys to create or abuse laws in order to give themselves new and expanded powers. We already know that there's not just one phone, but at least 17 other cases where they're asking for pretty much the same fucking thing (and none of those terrorists). All they need is a nice precedent and a year from now they'll be using it break open the phones of everyone charged slightly above littering or jaywalking. It'll also be very helpful when they seize mobile devices at those ever-growing "borders" from pesky reporters or political types.

    The authorities have already said they don't really know that there's anything useful on the phone (but we have to do everything, just in case). Given the wiretaps and other B.S. they've already been pulling, it's probably also a safe bet that most of it (if not all) they have already. But evidence gathered through illegal clandestine means can't be used in court, so you've gotta set a precedent for a nice new "legal" method.

    Sorry, but I applaud Apple for taking a strong stance on this, unlike the fuckers at Amazon who decided the best way to deal with the issue is to preemptively remove device-encryption with their latest (mandatory) update.

  10. Re:Yesterday's retracted news by tlambert · · Score: 5, Informative

    Even though the whole "pathogen" thing is retarded beyond belief, if it is truly county property, then IMO it's a no brainer to let the government access it.

    Of course.

    The government should have their most excellent programmers access it. No one wants to prevent the government from accessing something they have permission to access. So their most excellent programmers should do an end run around Large Number Theory, and magically access it.

    Or they could just apply to a FISA court for a warrant, and ask the NSA for the data, since the NSA PRISM program monitors the communications that would have been used to back up things like the address book in the first place.

    No need to involve Apple at all!

  11. Re:Yesterday's retracted news by meerling · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Except a Trojan and a Virus are two entirely different types of malware.
    Back to the topic though, the D.A. is talking out his ass regurgitating hollywood movie bullshit in an attempt to stir up fear in the ignorant masses to get what he wants. I bet he still believes computers run on pixie dust.