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DOJ Threatens To Seize iOS Source Code (idownloadblog.com)
An anonymous reader writes from an article posted on iDownloadBlog: The DoJ is demanding that Apple create a special version of iOS with removed security features that would permit the FBI to run brute-force passcode attempts on the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone 5c. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has made public where he stands on the Apple vs. FBI case, which has quickly become a heated national debate. In the court papers, DoJ calls Apple's rhetoric in the San Bernardino standoff as "false" and "corrosive" because the Cupertino firm dared suggest that the FBI's court order could lead to a "police state." Footnote Nine of DoJ's filing reads:
"For the reasons discussed above, the FBI cannot itself modify the software on the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone without access to the source code and Apple's private electronic signature. The government did not seek to compel Apple to turn those over because it believed such a request would be less palatable to Apple. If Apple would prefer that course, however, that may provide an alternative that requires less labor by Apple programmers."
As Fortune's Philip-Elmer DeWitt rightfully pointed out, that's a classic police threat. "We can do this [the] easy way or the hard way. Give us the little thing we're asking for -- a way to bypass your security software -- or we'll take [the] whole thing: your crown jewels and the royal seal too," DeWitt wrote. "With Apple's source code, the FBI could, in theory, create its own version of iOS with the security features stripped out. Stamped with Apple's electronic signature, the Bureau's versions of iOS could pass for the real thing," he added.
"For the reasons discussed above, the FBI cannot itself modify the software on the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone without access to the source code and Apple's private electronic signature. The government did not seek to compel Apple to turn those over because it believed such a request would be less palatable to Apple. If Apple would prefer that course, however, that may provide an alternative that requires less labor by Apple programmers."
As Fortune's Philip-Elmer DeWitt rightfully pointed out, that's a classic police threat. "We can do this [the] easy way or the hard way. Give us the little thing we're asking for -- a way to bypass your security software -- or we'll take [the] whole thing: your crown jewels and the royal seal too," DeWitt wrote. "With Apple's source code, the FBI could, in theory, create its own version of iOS with the security features stripped out. Stamped with Apple's electronic signature, the Bureau's versions of iOS could pass for the real thing," he added.
What's to stop Apple immediately releasing an update which 1. installs new keys, and 2. revokes the keys in possession of the FBI? i.e. before the FBI has enough time to modify and release their own version?
"Install this update NOW before law enforcement gets access to your phone?"
Or am I missing something?
If that's a feasible option, they're probably working on it right now.
They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
... then isn't the derivative work that they make copyright infringement?
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Private property rights (that would have defended Apple in this case) were were killed in the USA the moment government was able to apply the Sherman's Act to dismantle Rockefeller's Standard Oil. This is not new, the only people who think this threat by the government Mafia is anything new are the ones who want to discriminate against some (for example discriminating against Rockefeller's right to private property is cheered by a large number of people).
Apple is the modern day Standard Oil. This case against them is the application of Sherman Act against Standard Oil. If nothing is done, 100 years from now idiots will be saying that government using its oppression to destroy Apple's private property rights was the correct thing...
You can't handle the truth.
You really should read up on American history... start with Watergate. The reality is that fully encrypted communication channels are the lesser of two evils here... and fully encrypted communication is no different than "taking a walk in the woods" 200 years ago. The underlying idea is that thought is not a crime, speech is not a crime, and full access to my device only gives you my thought and speech. This has nothing to do with guns, you are mistaken about that. Gun control is about individual protection... encryption is about national protection.
Which has more power: the hammer, or the anvil?
I keep hearing people claim that there is a debate, but that is complete bullshit. The Feds are making demands, and people keep providing the same reasons over and over on why the Feds demands are wrong. There is no debate because the authoritarians in power don't care about right and wrong, or rights beyond their own. (They have them, you don't.)
I personally have no trust that if this went to the Supreme Court there would be a favorable outcome. Remember, Corporations are people, and the Feds can re-distribute _YOUR_ wealth however they see fit.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Trump assured us, in a recent debate, that if he gave unconstitutional order to the military, they would obey him.
I don't know if he's right, but it's clear that he, and the significant portion of Americans who are blindly following him, think he's right.
I'm a life-long Republican, but if push comes to shove, I'll vote for whoever wins the Democratic nomination to keep Trump out of office. I think he really is that bad.
That would constitute contempt of court - which is a bad idea.
That didn't stop Microsoft. When the court told Microsoft to remove Internet Explorer from Windows, they did so by leaving Windows in a broken state. The judge was astonished by this response. Microsoft was arguing that Windows and IE were one and the same, and presented the logical conclusion of removing IE. Many years of court litigation later, Microsoft eventually complied. By then, it was a moot decision as the marketplace had moved on to leave Microsoft in the dust.
In the end, our leaders are politicians - they do the things that their constituency will put up with. If this includes being KKK grand wizards and rounding up persons of foreign descent into concentration camps, it only does so because the majority of people put up with it and continued electing the officials that did that.
Fucking coward.
Remember that pesky clause at the end of the 5th ammendment? "... nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." According to the stock market today, "just compensation" for Apple's IP is somewhere in the $600 Billion range.
According to Edward Snowden, the feds have the capability to get into the phone already. I'm not surprised by this at all, it's so obviously a power grab to set precedent and feed the backdoor to local police so they can start sending drug dealers to jail even more frequently. This is a really scary story, has anyone ever seen anything like this? They're basically breaking down the door and demanding compliance. Fuck everything about this.
640k ought to be enough for anyone.