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Apple Employees, If Ordered To Unlock iPhone, Might Quit (nytimes.com)
An anonymous reader quotes an NYTimes article: Apple employees are already discussing what they will do if ordered to help law enforcement authorities. Some say they may balk at the work, while others may even quit their high-paying jobs rather than undermine the security of the software they have already created, according to more than a half-dozen current and former Apple employees. [...] The employees' concerns also provide insight into a company culture that despite the trappings of Silicon Valley wealth still views the world through the decades-old, anti-establishment prism of its co-founders Steven P. Jobs and Steve Wozniak. [...] The fear of losing a paycheck may not have much of an impact on security engineers whose skills are in high demand. Indeed, hiring them could be a badge of honor among other tech companies that share Apple's skepticism of the government's intentions.
Yes, it certainly seems that way. Unlike in some other cases, this time the government is doing everything "by the book" FBI do have a proper warrant and all of the backing of the Judiciary, that the 4th Amendment may require. Apple's continuing resistance can only be explained by either utter legal illiteracy or desire for publicity.
Considering the sheer size of the multi-billion dollar corporation, we can dispense with the former option...
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
It might not be smart to quit if, while employed, they are under Apple's umbrella of legal protection. Alone in the wild, could employees with knowledge on how to crack the phone* be pressured to crack the phones?
* = "Hey, remember when Apple said phones couldn't be cracked? Ha, good times, good times. (cries in beer)"
Has it come to this ? You are anti establishment if you expect the government to play fair, to obey the constitution, to not play games to get powers that it does not really need (for the purposes that it claims that it needs them for anyway) ? What are they putting into your water supply out there ?
"I am wondering who will quit their 6-digit salary paying swanky job in the Silicon Valley"
people with the skills, experience, and talent to get another 6-digit salary paying swanky job in an hour with a phone call or two. These arn't people who are going to be out of work for long.
We all have our points of view, but ultimately part of the price you pay for living in a democracy is sometimes having to put up with what you consider dumb decisions made by governments and the courts and other people for voting for idiots. You can't pick and choose which laws or warrants you obey - that way lies anarchy.
That's why Mohandas Gandhi, Anthony of Padua, Rosa Parks, Edward Snowden, and other civil rights activists are so admired: because they followed every dumb law in existence to the letter.
Put in the backdoor, but make it only work for the next month or so. FBI gets to hack this one phone, but can't do anything with this backdoor in the future.
This has almost nothing to do with whether or not the FBI can reuse the backdoor. It doesn't even really have much to do with encryption, except as a thin veneer over the real issues.
Rather, this one case will set a precedent for decades to come about whether the government can compel you, Joe Average, into involuntary servitude (aka "slavery") just because the FBI (or any other "legit" law enforcement agency) wants to go on an evidence-fishing trip, against both your own and your customer's interests.
The FBI hasn't asked for a preexisting key, or even just information; they've demanded nothing less than to have Apple spend time and money creating something that doesn't exist because Apple didn't want it to exist. And don't kid yourself about the "offer" to do it themselves if Apple gives them the source code - Have you ever seen the source code to any project bigger than "Hello World"? It would take *more* of Apple's time just helping the FBI set up a viable build environment. The FBI didn't ask for that because that makes it a lot more clear what they've really demanded - Slave labor. "Give us something similar to a key" sounds a lot more palatable than "do our bidding for no pay for a few weeks".
Are you seriously bashing people who have morals over greed?
My question is similar, but for completely different reasons. IF they quit, they don't (directly) have the support & resources of Apple. Then the gov't can force/threaten them directly.
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
The FBI already has access to information they need, they are just using this as a strong arm attempt to force a company to bow to their wishes. and sadly they got a corrupt judge to go along with them.
Honestly, if every single american is not up in arms and screaming at their congress critter right now to stop this bullshit, then they need to move to soviet russia where things are more to their liking.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
The federal government will try to take Apple apart piece by piece: in court, in the press, and perhaps by brain drain from people leaving.
To the government, it's very important to set a precedent where companies have to comply, in all circumstances, with any and all requests for technical assistance- regardless of the true legality. So expect ongoing government behavior to accomplish these goals.
If engineers quit over this, good for them. If Apple makes it out relatively unscathed- I'll be content.
This particular issue- might damage the company and US tech industry in ways we've not even considered yet. Consider the idea that encryption technology moves offshore from the US. Consider the competitive disadvantage if foreign encryption schemes need to be used rather than home grown ones. Would US companies be competitive? Would secure foreign technologies even be available in the US?
This whole thing is dangerous in the long term. Apple better win this or the face of technology changes in the USA.
Another consultant who stuck it out.
"We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx..."
I am wondering who will quit their 6-digit salary paying swanky job in the Silicon Valley, just because they do not agree with the law enforcement. Maybe 1 or 2 people with some screws loose upstairs, but no sane person would do such a thing.
The Founding Fathers of our country abandoned their cushy plantations so they could fight for their liberties. Giving up one comfy job out of principle doesn't seem so bad in perspective.
And I'm sure there were people who would have lynched Rosa Parks if given the chance too. Just because you side with the bad guys on bad laws doesn't change the fact that civil disobedience can be a positive trait.
Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
And no one in the history of everything has ever left a job, taken a job somewhere else, and then been hired back at their previous job at a higher rate of pay after things changed. Ever. Never gonna happen.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips
You can't pick and choose which laws or warrants you obey - that way lies anarchy.
If only you were around to explain this to Rosa Parks.
Let's ask snowden about civil disobedience when he gets home. I think he said he might be running a little late.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
The Constitution does not prevent the Executive from searching citizens. It requires the Executive's cause to be reasonable and approved by the Judiciary's. The requirements the Executive have satisfied in this case.
You are tragically misinformed. Nobody is stopping the DOJ from searching the phone. The problem they are facing is that the data on the phone is encrypted. To circumvent that matter, the DOJ is asking Apple either compromise their own customers' security by making malware, or giving their security keys to the DOJ so they can do the same. That is a violation of Apple's free speech and essentially enslavery.
Both options would've sounded phantastical to the framers of the Constitution, but they are quite analogous to, for example, demanding a landlord's cooperation in opening up a tenant's apartment, or a bank required to open up a customer's safe deposit box.
Those aren't analogous at all, since the landlord and bank have the keys to the doors they are being asked to open. What is more analogous would be if a criminal buried his locked box somewhere, so the U.S. government demanded all shovel owners and shovel manufacturers to start digging for it, or be in contempt of the court.
Actually, as much as I hate to say this, I think I kind of agree with what is being said. The FBI is merely demanding that someone help them execute a legal warrant, and Apple is refusing to do so. For good reasons, I might add, but I could see how the FBI might have a valid argument there.
However, the real story here is not that Apple could be forced to do this, it is that Apple *can* be forced to do this because they can force a download of an OS to a customer device. In other words, Apple has the master key to the apartment, because they made it that way. The FBI is merely demanding that they use it.
There is no question of *changing* iOS to allow the FBI to do this. iOS already allows this by *design*. It's just a matter of changing the payload.
Who cares if they can prove it, or have any evidence. Most of the people at Gitmo have been there for more than 13 years without charge or trial, let alone any evidence against them.
The entire "anti-establishment" premise of the summary is wrong. It is not anti-establishment for security professionals to refuse to break security.
It is professionally responsible. It's like if a priest is ordered to convert a parishioner to satanism, a doctor is ordered to harm a patient, or a cop is ordered to beat the crap out of an old lady.