Apple Hires Corporate Security Chief Amid Legal Battle With FBI (fortune.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Apple has hired a new security executive to oversee its corporate digital defenses as a result of the ongoing battle with the U.S. government over law enforcement's desire to crack into the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone 5c. George Stathakopoulos, former vice president of information security at Amazon.com and before that Microsoft's general manager of product security, is the new appointee designated to be the vice president of corporate information security. Stathakopoulos will be responsible for protecting corporate assets, such as the computers used to design products and develop software, as well as data about customers. The new hire is a sign of increased focus on security issues at Apple.

Comments

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Watch out for infiltration

[ameline]

If I were them I'd be pretty careful about who I hired and what I had them do. I'm pretty sure their security/crypto engineers are long-time employees who have demonstrated their trustworthiness over the years.

I certainly wouldn't put it past the NSA/FBI/CSIS/GCHQ/FSB etc to try to get people on the inside.

 

Re:Watch out for infiltration

[Noah Haders]

this is why it's so dangerous to create a "one-time unlock key", even if it stays in apple's possession rather than going to the FBI. Once exists, it will become the hottest industrial espionage target. NOMORESECRETS

Re:Watch out for infiltration

[Anonymous Coward]

But he once worked for Microsoft, the industry example of security.

Re:Watch out for infiltration

[toonces33]

The main thing the FBI needs is the signing certificate. Undoubtedly this is something that Apple keeps tight control over, but at the end of the day it is just a file on disk somewhere.

Re:Watch out for infiltration

[shawn2772]

So Apple just has to "un-exist" it when they are done. Develop and use it in a clean room, then destroy the contents of the room once they hand over the pin to the FBI, if it turns out that the FBI has a constitutional right to demand Apples assistance.

Oh, and then re-create it for each of the next 200 phones the FBI wants into... making sure that no copies every leak, each time.

This case isn't about Farook's phone. Everyone knows there's nothing of use on it anyway... anything of value would have been on one of his burner phones, which the FBI knows he had and knows he destroyed, not on the phone that he knew was being backed up to iCloud under an employer-owned account. This is all about the precedent. The FBI picked this phone because "terrorist!", but even they don't care about this one. It's all about the rest.

Re:Watch out for infiltration

[TheGratefulNet]

you think 'staff members' have full *important* code access?

ha!

the more important the code is, the higher up you have to have authorization to even KNOW about. at least any real company does that. you can't even see some dirs unless you are authorized.

Why don't

[rossdee]

why don't they just buy the entire FBI
I am sure President Donald will give them a good deal...

Re:Good move

[frovingslosh]

before that Microsoft's general manager of product security

I wonder if he was in charge of Microsoft product security when they turned over the source code for most of the computers used in the U.S. to the Chinese government.

Re:Good move

[Aighearach]

Even going back to the 90s, the major customers had the source, including India.

Writing drivers was a PITA, major device vendors had the source.

It isn't secret, only proprietary and not available for general distribution.