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FBI Tells Local Law Enforcement It Will Help Unlock Phones (buzzfeed.com)
Salvador Hernandez, reporting for BuzzFeed: Just days after breaking into a terrorist's iPhone using a mysterious third-party technique, FBI officials on Friday told local law enforcement agencies it will assist them with unlocking phones and other electronic devices. The advisory, obtained by BuzzFeed News, was sent in response to law enforcement inquiries about its new method of unlocking devices. Though the dispatch does not explicitly state if the FBI will use the mysterious third-party method to unlock phones for local authorities, officials said the agency "will of course consider any tool that might be helpful to our partners."
I have no doubt that the FBI's public proclamation of successfully unlocking the San Bernardino and now this intentionally leaked memo are part of a concerted effort to embarrass Apple by discrediting their encryption and privacy technology. I mean when was the last time you heard of the government bragging about having the ability to hack phones? You would expect the opposite since they wouldn't want such capabilities known. In the end Apple will win because this entire episode will motivate them to double down on their stated encryption/privacy policies and work even harder to lock down the phone to prying eyes.
99% of people in tech--EVERYBODY who does not work with law enforcement and understands the issues--was against the FBI.
One of the two will happen because one of the two need to happen to continue to function in a lawful society.
No. False choice. The other option is that police departments must use other methods to prove crimes.
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
As if the phone in the San Bernadino case wasn't one that was used by an actual, real, murdering person who embarked on a terrorist attack?
Correct: it wasn't the one used in planning the terrorist attack.
To remind you of the facts, this was the work phone of (one of) the persons who embarked on the terrorist attack... which they planned using burner phones that they took some pains to destroy (along with the hard disk from their computer) and succeeded in doing so in a way that the FBI could not recover information.
https://www.inverse.com/articl...
http://www.washingtontimes.com...
So, the question is, would they make an effort to to destroy two phones, and not bother destroying the third phone, if the third phone actually had any information on it?
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
Or we can accept the loss and not set the precedent that the government always wins by use of force. Yes, sometimes it's essential that bad things happen to otherwise good people. In fact, the only way to prevent that from happening is to disallow all freedoms or, alternatively, disallow all humans.
I really tire of this trend toward cowardice and pipe dreams. You will not have a lawful society, ever. That doesn't mean don't outlaw anything. That means establish punishments and impose reasonable restrictions on the government - and on the people. If we can make a lock that the government can't get into, then fuck 'em. Yes, shit's gonna happen. Sorry but that's the price you pay to live in a free society.
By the way, this is the same reason it's true for firearms, driving, owning a sharp steak knife, being allowed to speak, being able to eat steak, go skydiving, swim, run, jump, skip rope, being allowed to worship, etc...
And some of those aren't even RIGHTS - they're privileges. Privacy, by means of the 4th *and* 5th is pretty much an important fucking concept. There's shit the government can not do. That MEANS bad shit is going to happen. Deal with it. Stop trying to take away my liberties because you're scared. Your fear is not a good reason to take away my liberties - even if I don't USE those liberties. I want them ALL. In fact, I want as many as I can get while still retaining a cohesive, tolerant, and functional society.
That means accepting that shit happens sometimes and doing what you can to clean up afterwards - as well as taking reasonable precautions. Giving the government carte blanc to open anything they damned well please, when they've already demonstrated they can't be trusted - especially with the fucking search warrants, is certainly not on the list of reasonable precautions. Hell no...
Why are you so eager to give up my liberties? They're YOUR liberties too, you know. They're not just mine. Hell, I'll be fine - thanks. I'm more worried about your liberties than you are. Sadly, that's not a joke. That's not funny at all. Me? I can get hell out of the country and be fine all over the globe if I absolutely had to. I have liquid assets stored in non-digital format as well as liquid assets in cash format - stored in a variety of places. Trust me, I'll be fine.
You, on the other hand, are stuck here. So aren't a whole lot of other people. They just might like to make use of some of those liberties you're happily giving away because you're a fucking coward.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."