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FBI Has Sights On Larger Battle Over Encryption After Apple Feud (bloomberg.com)

An anonymous reader writes from a report via Bloomberg: FBI Director James Comey said the FBI is exploring how to make broader use of the hack, used to access a San Bernardino terrorist's encrypted iPhone, while bracing for a larger battle involving encrypted text messages, e-mails and other data. The tool could "in theory be used in any case where there's a court order" to access data on an iPhone 5c running Apple's iOS 9 OS, Comey told reporters in Washington on Wednesday. However, accessing content on a phone, known as "data at rest," is only part of the challenge that encryption poses for U.S. investigators. Software applications and other services that encrypts texts, e-mails and other information in transit over the Internet, known as "data in motion," are "hugely significant," especially for national security investigations, Comey said. He said criminals are increasingly using services that encrypt data in motion, and he didn't rule out litigation against companies such as WhatsApp. "WhatsApp has over a billion customers, overwhelmingly good people," Comey said. "But in that billion customers are terrorists and criminals, and so that now ubiquitous feature of all WhatsApp products will affect both sides of the house." As for whether or not there will be litigation against WhatsApp down the road, Comey says, "I don't know." The FBI is trying to figure out how to allow "law enforcement around the country with court orders to be able to use our tool," Comey said. It's "tricky," he said, because using the tool to help state and local criminal investigations could mean that it would have to be revealed in a court preceding if there isn't a procedure in place to prohibit testimony about how it works.

96 of 171 comments (clear)

  1. They deny there's a slippery slope... by mishehu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...yet they're just itching to let local law enforcement use their tool for what plainly is not a matter of national security. I really hope that Americans aren't quite as dumb as I perceive and can see things for the way they are. Also, the more I hear Comey speaking, the more I wish somebody would just put a sock in him. The 1990's called and wants its Clipper chip back.

    1. Re:They deny there's a slippery slope... by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's even a worse slippery slope. Not only do they want to be able to crack open all encryption, but they want to black box the process so they don't have to reveal how they obtained the information in open court.

      "Well, you're honor, we have the Anti-encrypto-tron 5000, whose inner workings we can't reveal, because, you know, terrorists and pedophiles! But rest assured, we didn't just invent this incriminating evidence. You can trust us totally."

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    2. Re:They deny there's a slippery slope... by rsborg · · Score: 4, Informative

      I really hope that Americans aren't quite as dumb as I perceive and can see things for the way they are.

      There's a large majority that are completely pissed off at the current (police) state of affairs.

      However, the security state and corporatocracy have chipped away again and again, year after year at the power of the people and it's not clear there's any real power left.

      --
      Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
    3. Re:They deny there's a slippery slope... by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 4, Insightful

      nice justice system you got there.

      I wonder, can we go back to using ducks and scales? at least there, you have some transparency.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    4. Re:They deny there's a slippery slope... by Thanshin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      the security state and corporatocracy have chipped away again and again, year after year at the power of the people and it's not clear there's any real power left.

      The People, can have their power back at any point in time.

      It just requires a larger sacrifice the longer it takes.

      Last time, we had to sacrifice our humanity and decapitate other human beings.

      Let's hope next time the new start can be achieved in a more civilized manner.

    5. Re:They deny there's a slippery slope... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      there is no slippery slope, there is just a deep shaft straight down to Stasi land

    6. Re:They deny there's a slippery slope... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Call me crazy, but I think John McAfee should be the Vice President.

      He actually knows what's up with this encroachment on our privacy and the necessity for strong encryption not to have backdoors. I'll vote for McAfee over Hillary, write him in if I have to.

    7. Re:They deny there's a slippery slope... by _KiTA_ · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Slipperly slope nothing, they're leaping off the cliff. Their latest argument is that part time traffic court judges in bumfuck Nebraska should be allowed to authorize hacks to literally any/every computer everywhere.

      Perhaps, I don't know, the FBI's job is SUPPOSED to be hard. Whenever they use that as an excuse to shit over everyone's rights I get more than a little wary.

    8. Re:They deny there's a slippery slope... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      "Well, you're honor, we have the Anti-encrypto-tron 5000, whose inner workings we can't reveal, because, you know, terrorists and pedophiles! But rest assured, we didn't just invent this incriminating evidence. You can trust us totally."

      Re: Actually TOP SECRET AND CONFIDENTIAL.

      The Anti-encrypto-tron 5000

      [Graphic REDACTED]

      The Anti-encrypto-tron 5000 works by having an unlimited number of monkeys type away on an unlimited number of keyboards connected to the device with the encrypted data. Though the [SUPER SECRET PRINCIPLE REDACTED], the monkeys will overwrite the encrypted data with the correct plain text data. (That or they will produce some valid JPEGs with Child Pornography so we can at least get a possession charge to stick.)

      This method of decryption was proved to work by [REDACTED] and approved for use in court by [REDACTED]. See Order [REDACTED] for further information regarding the expected outcome of your specific case. Any further questions should be directed to [REDACTED].

      Signed,
      Judge [REDACTED].

    9. Re:They deny there's a slippery slope... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      nice justice system you got there.

      Best one money can buy!

    10. Re:They deny there's a slippery slope... by Shortguy881 · · Score: 2

      She turned me into a newt! ...I got better...

      --
      Brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.
  2. I don't know why it stops here by surfdaddy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can walk down the street with a friend and have a conversation that is not recorded, is never discoverable in the future. Although millions of us are honest people, terrorists could have these types of conversations as well. I just don't know how we can let that happen. It seems that the government should require us to record conversations so that if there is a warrant in the future we can get that data. Why it is just unfathomable that there could be information that the government cannot discover! How could we have let this happen for so long?! It's just SO GREAT that the FBI is trying to protect us...

    1. Re: I don't know why it stops here by Sperbels · · Score: 1

      That will never happen. It might sound like it'll work, but people with power (the ultra wealthy and government) maintain their power through secrecy. What would end up happening is nobody has secrets except the wealthy/ruling class.

    2. Re:I don't know why it stops here by DaHat · · Score: 1

      I can walk down the street with a friend and have a conversation that is not recorded, is never discoverable in the future.

      Not exactly a fair comparison as recording the two of you takes a good bit more work, either someone near by auto-recording everything, or that PI or PD following you with a parabolic dish is being compared to ones where copying the contents of a conversation is trivial.

      I've a 24/7 recording camera in my home which does both audio & video... and I turn it off from time to time when I'm going to have a conversation which I want to reduce the possibility of someone ever being able to overhear.

    3. Re:I don't know why it stops here by gweihir · · Score: 1

      Already being worked on. You think your phone is locked or off? Bad news, it can still listen to you and encoding and storing audio-data does not take a lot of power. Of course, at some point, anybody without a mobile phone or carrying one that cannot do this, will automatically be regarded as a terrorist.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    4. Re:I don't know why it stops here by DaHat · · Score: 2

      Can't "OK Google" automatically pick up the request while the screen is turned off (and charging?)?

      The 17 people using Windows Phone have hands free "Hey Cortana."

      In our homes we have always listening "Xbox, watch CNN" and "Alexa, add dish soap to my shopping list.

      It is said that the 'wake word' is baked deep into these systems so they aren't 'really' listening & transcribing everything, but as you say, it's coming.

    5. Re:I don't know why it stops here by tlambert · · Score: 5, Funny

      I've a 24/7 recording camera in my home which does both audio & video... and I turn it off from time to time when I'm going to have a conversation which I want to reduce the possibility of someone ever being able to overhear.

      I know.

      The Chinese company that sells me access to the web site that lets me remotely monitor your (or anyone else's) camera and microphone for $9.95 a month pops up a dialog when you do that, and I have to click "Reenable" instead of "Ignore" on the little dialog box.

      Luckily, I've written an Automator script to click the button for me, in case I'm away from home when you go into that mode, since I still want to record everything you say or do "just in case".

    6. Re:I don't know why it stops here by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

      I can walk down the street with a friend and have a conversation that is not recorded, is never discoverable in the future. Although millions of us are honest people, terrorists could have these types of conversations as well. I just don't know how we can let that happen. It seems that the government should require us to record conversations so that if there is a warrant in the future we can get that data. Why it is just unfathomable that there could be information that the government cannot discover! How could we have let this happen for so long?! It's just SO GREAT that the FBI is trying to protect us...

      Even this is a slippery slope. When all conversations are recorded then the terrorists will simply move to sign language. In this end we must also break everyones fingers to keep freedom safe or whatever.

      --
      Wanna buy a shirt?
      https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
    7. Re:I don't know why it stops here by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      In theory this wake-on-voice feature uses a low power DSP that only recognizes one phrase ("OK Google" or "Hay Cortana"), and never sends the audio samples out over the network. Sending it out would kill the battery.

      It could be abused by re-training it to use a different phrase ("allahu akbar") and then send the next 60 seconds of audio. Such an attack would be much more effective than simply recording all the time, because it would have much less impact on battery life.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    8. Re:I don't know why it stops here by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Surely it would make more sense to start recording when he presses the privacy button. The "temporarily disable recording" function is just a way to get victims to mark out interesting conversations for you, instead of having to waste your own time listening to irrelevant stuff.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    9. Re:I don't know why it stops here by FrozenGeek · · Score: 1

      I know you're intending to be funny, but please keep in mind that some of the folks who want to rip away our privacy will think your comments are a good idea. Ever notice that there are some people out there who think of 1984 as a training manual?

      --
      linquendum tondere
    10. Re:I don't know why it stops here by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      My Droid Turbo had a feature that let me say an activation phrase and then perform tasks. I had it active for a short time but turned it off because it would hear anything as the activation phrase. We'd be talking about a random topic and suddenly my phone would beep to indicate that it Googled what we were talking about. So, yes, these features can be constantly listening and it wouldn't take much to turn them from "Ok, Google [now perform search]" to always sending recordings of you to some server somewhere.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    11. Re:I don't know why it stops here by BorgAssimilator · · Score: 1

      To paraphrase Andromeda:

      Captain Hunt: America, override privacy mode.
      Beka: Hold on. You can just override privacy mode just like that?
      Captain Hunt: Yeah. America's at war. We can't afford secrets.

      --
      "Intelligence has nothing to do with politics!"
      -Londo Mollari
    12. Re:I don't know why it stops here by DaHat · · Score: 1

      What privacy button? Perhaps I should have been more clear: when I turn it off... I yank the power cord.

    13. Re:I don't know why it stops here by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      You know, that little electrostatic bag really has multiple good uses.

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    14. Re:I don't know why it stops here by gweihir · · Score: 1

      It has. In particular, it does not help at all here. Because it is, you know, an electro-static bag. That does not do anything for RF, which is electro-magnetic and not static at all. And recording voice does not even need an RF connection. I give you a "TRIPLE-FAIL!" and award you one virtual Popsicle. (The 3rd fail is that you apparently did not even try this. My phone is so unimpressed that it does not even drop a reception-bar.)

      The only reliable way to do this (besides carrying a tin can or the like as actually working RF shielding and some additional heavy soundproofing) is to remove the phone's battery.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  3. Sure let them have WhatsApp by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    Who cares? Are they going to make illegal to use something else?

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:Sure let them have WhatsApp by davester666 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yes, they will go for requiring backdoors into everything. It is no surprise that ever since Hoover was in charge, the FBI loves backdooring anything and anyone they can.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  4. Beyond reasonable doubt by Macdude · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If the prosecution's case relies on evidence gathered by secret means then the data cannot be verified and it does not meet the standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

    "We have evidence that proves his guilt but we can't tell you about it" -- then you don't have evidence.

    --
    "Grab them by the pussy" -- President of the United States of America
    1. Re:Beyond reasonable doubt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      That's why they use the illegally obtained evidence to make up a different story. They even helpfully tell local police departments to do it.

    2. Re:Beyond reasonable doubt by fustakrakich · · Score: 3

      then you don't have evidence.

      They don't need no steenking evidence

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    3. Re:Beyond reasonable doubt by gweihir · · Score: 1

      Not so! First, you make this type of data "evidence" by law. Just use enough terrorists and child molesters, and that should be a breeze. And next, you just start making up evidence completely, thereby saving a ton of money and being able to put a lot more people in prison!

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    4. Re:Beyond reasonable doubt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      "We have evidence that proves his guilt but we can't tell you about it" -- then you don't have evidence.

      Except in practice that's not what happens. What actually happens is thus. First, the evidence acquired by secret means remains secret or at least the source of it remains secret. Second, the evidence gathered from the first or secret source is used to launch a separate investigation that while arguably serendipitous none the less explains how the authorities became aware of and monitored the alleged criminal activity in ways that are both legal and allow for plausible deniability of any secret alternative source. The result is a case by parallel construction without the need to disclose the true origin of the case or even to acknowledge the existence of alternative origins.

    5. Re:Beyond reasonable doubt by shawn2772 · · Score: 1

      That's why they use the illegally obtained evidence to make up a different story. They even helpfully tell local police departments to do it.

      Yes, that happens. Note that in this case, though, we aren't talking about illegally-obtained evidence, we're talking about legally-obtained evidence that can't stand up in court. So they don't need careful parallel construction to avoid "fruit of the poisoned tree" issues. If asked what put them on the track of the evidence that can be used in court, they can happily point to the decrypted data.

      Where this creates real risks is if they claim to have gotten a lead from decrypted data in order to start a parallel construction as an alternative to evidence that was obtained illegally. For example, suppose the cops entered the suspect's house without a warrant and found an e-mail on his computer which led them to damning evidence which they could only have found with access to his e-mail. They can't use that evidence in court because the defense attorney would ask them how they obtained the e-mail. But assuming they had some other basis for arresting the suspect and taking his phone, they can simply claim that they got the e-mail from there, even if they didn't actually decrypt the phone at all. Unless the defense has some evidence that they're lying about having gotten the information from the phone, he has no way to argue that the damning evidence is fruit of the poisoned tree, so the judge will refuse to exclude it.

  5. two words by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 1

    FISA Court

    --
    This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
    1. Re:two words by jcr · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "FISA court" is an oxymoron. In a court of law, an issue is contested by opposing sides before a neutral judge (and jury, if there's felony liability at stake, or funds in excess of twenty dollars in controversy).

      A rubber-stamp procedure where one government employee pretends to be an advocate for the government's target while another one pretends to be a neutral magistrate, and a third pretends to be a legitimate officer of the court asking for a legal warrant, is not a court of law at all, and everyone participating in such a farce is complicit in a conspiracy to deny civil rights under color of authority.

      If we ever have a functioning justice system in this country again, a hell of a lot of apparatchiki will be in deep shit.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    2. Re:two words by FlyHelicopters · · Score: 1

      A rubber-stamp procedure where one government employee pretends to be an advocate for the government's target while another one pretends to be a neutral magistrate, and a third pretends to be a legitimate officer of the court asking for a legal warrant, is not a court of law at all, and everyone participating in such a farce is complicit in a conspiracy to deny civil rights under color of authority.

      Quoted for truth...

      This is no different than the "special NAZI courts" that Hitler setup in the 1930s when the open courts weren't ruling "his way".

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      ---

      The Special Courts came into being in 1933, soon after the passage of the Reichstag Fire Decree which all but eliminated civil liberties. The scope of its power was successively augmented by the

      "Decree to Protect the Government of the National Socialist Revolution from Treacherous Attacks" (21 March 1933),
      the "Law of 20 December 1934 against insidious Attacks upon the State and Party and for the Protection of the Party Uniform",
      the "Law for the Guarantee of Peace Based on Law" of 13 October 1933
      and a number of extensions when World War II commenced.
      The number of Special Courts increased from 26 in 1933 to 74 in 1942.

      A special court had three judges, and the defense counsel was appointed by the court. Even as heavy-handed as justice was in Nazi Germany, defendants were afforded at least nominal protections under the regular courts' rules and procedures. These protections were swept away in the special courts, since they existed outside the ordinary judicial system. There was no possibility of appeal, and verdicts could be executed at once. The court decided the extent of evidence to consider, and "the defense attorneys couldn't question the proof of the charges".

    3. Re: two words by c.s.carlson6 · · Score: 1

      Thank you for this. I hope you are right.

    4. Re:two words by MrKaos · · Score: 1

      The Special Courts came into being in 1933, soon after the passage of the Reichstag Fire Decree which all but eliminated civil liberties.

      It would be interesting to compare the intent of the wording of this with modern "Anti-Terorism" Acts that achieve this very same thing. For example:

      Constitution of the German Reich are suspended until further notice. It is therefore permissible to restrict the rights of personal freedom [habeas corpus], freedom of (opinion) expression, including the freedom of the press, the freedom to organize and assemble, the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications.

      All of these things have been achieved in US/UK/Australian anti teror acts in varying degrees to manuver around constitutionality. I haven't read the Canadian or New Zealand articles (nor am I a Fench, German, Spanish, Italian speaker) however I am certain there are similarities in a move from covert to overt attack on all citizens rights. I'm not sure if the Reichstag Act would allow for the jailing of witnesses of arrests, body cavity searches of teenagers as young as 14 (IIRC the age) and strict liability for offences however our Anti teror laws certainly do. India, the worlds largest democracy, has wound back these laws and we should have the humility to follow their lead. What we have today is the Reich's wet dream.

      In the context of the Burr-Feinstein bill to out law the function of encryption (as opposed to it's implementation and use) I think US citizens have to be careful that the meta-data retention clauses in Section 4 of their proposed bill isn't the real purpose. Australia had a similar bill pass 18 months ago and when I read the American version it was so familiar in intent.

      Essentially there was a huge argument about the government accessing the contents of it's citizens communications, which is strikingly similar to the argument America is having now. Then a meta data bill was passed uncontested that allowed the government to map the associations of all citizens. When I read the Burr-Feinstein bill it's actually *worse* that the Australian bill in terms of the powers it allows.

      I'm concerned for you guys that the this is the true intent of this debate, that the politician are playing the game of distraction so that what they really want in Section 4 sails through uncontested. Whilst it's right for you to protect your access to encryption your right to free association is also important and deserves just as much protection. Be careful Americans, don't let them fool you.

      Please, please don't fall into the same trap.

      --
      My ism, it's full of beliefs.
  6. Clearly... by mark-t · · Score: 1

    .... we can learn a lesson from WhatsApp. if you ever develop any mechanism that allows end users to encrypt data in ways that nobody other than the intended recipient can decrypt, you have to actively try to discourage it from ever becoming too popular, because if it ever should become a dominating player, then criminals will be using it as well, and then law enforcement will want to come after you.

    1. re: Clearly... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      if you ever develop any mechanism that allows end users to encrypt data in ways that nobody other than the intended recipient can decrypt, [...] then law enforcement will want to come after you.

      Doesn't even have to be popular.

      ~W8sJZuq7 boCJv0Mcr Q4npxqWWb SPWEjkPie
      csURjLyyc HKtz3QEDq 8oP6j0HrQ u6JyC4b_g
      z2Jzf7Kav 3.tilpIRF FAQ_y0dSo ryS4xPmIU
      u5gZ3kH2h ekOx5vnJl 71Xfatwso qEXFPG05U
      nRSbAZRBA g37p8l7MN NIeE2_XCv 9nokyg_ND
      fSMYPfWDr 3LVcUq916 osfEWSsXV DgHRgYS8u
      atUHjkrwN 2I3ozXKH3 4fvV1vdq1 TIng05Fm.
      bV8rXOR2S yiYSqUl8H _a1ELHDb9 fHGMadoW2
      tf7jnCUC6 TqnOHzFDH 00

      Secret Key: hunter2

    2. Re:Clearly... by tom229 · · Score: 1

      we can learn a lesson from WhatsApp [...] discourage it from ever becoming too popular

      That's the lesson you've learned? Oi vey, I don't know if there's any hope for this Facebook generation. Here's a tip: don't centralize stuff you think is important. You send every message, encrypted or not, through a central hub of a private, for-profit, American company, and are surprised someone can just flick a switch and make it all go away? Look up XMPP and PGP. Tell your friends. Then, please apply this same criticism to every cloud service you use, social media account you have, and walled garden you actively support with your dollars.

      --
      If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
  7. Secret investigations... by SeattleLawGuy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Secret investigations are often necessary for a time to allow law enforcement investigations to proceed.

    Right up until the moment when you take someone to court. If you don't disclose how evidence was obtained, then there is nothing to prevent en masse violation of the Constitution--no matter how good your intentions or how bad the people you are going after.

    --
    Real lawyers write in C++
  8. Comey needs to resign by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Interesting

    FBI Director James Comey needs to resign because he's made it very clear he does not have the American public's best interests in mind.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:Comey needs to resign by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      FBI Director James Comey needs to resign because he's made it very clear he does not have the American public's best interests in mind.

      Not to mention his ignorance regarding fundamental tenets of the Constitution.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    2. Re:Comey needs to resign by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1

      Not to mention his ignorance regarding fundamental tenets of the Constitution.

      agreed.

      and btw, thanks for saying 'tenets' and not 'tenents'. the constitution has been rented out enough and its a bit tired from all the abuse. it needs some alone-time and maybe some ice cream.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
  9. Syed Rizwan Farook and the GoPro cameras by tetraverse · · Score: 1

    Where are the GoPro cameras, where is the third suspect, why was a 'disaster drill' going on before the shooting. How did a coworker manage to identify one shooter as Farook as they were all wearing masks. Why did Farook attend the 'departmental event' in civvies only to rush out after being insulted to return in combat gear.

    San Bernardino Jihadis Strapped GoPros to Their Body Armor

  10. Law of unintended consequences... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    It is understandable the FBI wants to not have to deal with encryption. It is their sworn duty to uphold the law, and to them, encryption is something a crook can use to keep them from answering for their crimes.

    However, the problem is that it creates a blowback effect. Before Biden and Lieberman introduced laws to ban encryption completely, nobody gave a rat's ass about it. What encryption there was was absolute shit and at best, just homegrown (lets seed and use rand.c and XOR that.) Want FDE? Stacker and setting a password was the way on the MS-DOS or OS/2 side. On the Mac side, FWB Hard Disk Toolkit had a driver that did two rounds of DES. Archiving utilities at best had 1-2 rounds of DES as well, due to speed.

    When the Congrescritters started trying to ban it, it woke people up. Especially after Operation Sun Devil. Those two events (the government going after and raiding people, coupled with wanting to ban encryption, then have their own key escrowed stuff) created the Cypherpunks list. Eventually, after Clipper was killed, Skipjack publicized, encryption got boring, and the college students went on to other things.

    Now, we have a similar situation. Again, Congrescritters wanting encryption bans, people being thrown in jail for the rest of their lives without trial until they cough up a password.

    It isn't just the US. Other countries will seize businessmen's laptops as a matter of routine.

    Then, there is Apple's halo effect. Apple is seen as the "good guys" by many people. Pushing on Apple is not good PR. Hell, even the EU which routinely drags Google and Microsoft into their kangaroo courts so that they can keep relevant (anti-Americanism is a sure way to keep your job), those guys don't even get near Apple, even when laws are passed (like the one forcing companies to standardize on one charging/data adapter.)

    The FBI shouldn't keep on this route. If the government starts pushing too much against encryption, we all know about the War on Drugs and Prohibition... there would be a renaissance on encryption that would make Tim C. May, Black Unicorn, and PRZ seem like amateur hacks, with what products would be produced, with real security. Virtually everything would "go dark". Hardware backdoors? If consumers were willing to pay for it, there will be some company selling "trusted" hardware, with the only guessed backdoors, that country's intelligence department.

    Look at the firearm industry in the US... if people started really fearing that they might be tossed in a private prison, to only see their family on some shitty Skype-esque thing for $10 a minute for the rest of their lives, you will see that factor of fear causing a lot of people to pay a lot of money for heavy duty encryption.

  11. Re: I thought they were too busy... by DaHat · · Score: 1

    Even their director admitted there's "scant" evidence.

    Citation? Because that's not the news making it's way around the internet today, as he did just shoot a hole in the talking points of the Clinton campaign today:

    Clinton and her team have made a point of not describing the FBI's work as an "investigation," but alternately as a "security review" or "security inquiry." They've also noted that the issue was referred to the FBI not as a criminal matter but as an intelligence breach.

    However, in response to a question Wednesday, Comey said he wasn't familiar with the term "security inquiry" that Clinton and her aides have used. The FBI chief said he considers the work agents are doing to be an "investigation."

    "It's in our name. I'm not familiar with the term 'security inquiry','" the director said.

    That doesn't sound like he said 'scant' evidence (of which there is plenty under a gross negligence standard for the lowest charge), even when taken with the last line of the article:

    However, he passed up the chance to repeat a reporter's characterization of it as a "criminal" probe.

    If it wasn't a criminal probe, why would you give immunity to a key staffer?

  12. Re:Encryption is good for video games. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The ironic thing is that this seems to be the exact same argument on another topic, except, passing everything through a 'sed s/guns/encryption/g' filter. Imagine how many rights we would have if the 1A defenders and the 2A defenders would stop pissing on each other and get along.

  13. Re: I thought they were too busy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    And Blumenthal confirmed today that there is no "Clinton bombshell."

  14. Secret decryption tools are bad by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They're bad because any old file can be presented as coming from the encrypted device. It would be very easy for the fuzz to "plant evidence", so to speak. As in:

    "Did you find this photo of the defendant wielding an ISIS flag on the defendant's phone Officer?"

    "Yes your honor."

    "How did you recover it?"

    "I can't say your honor."

    Good luck proving the phone only had lolcats on it.

    The FBI director openly discussing how to subvert the justice system is yet another sign that the US is now a fully fledged totalitarian state.

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  15. Impeach him by Bruce66423 · · Score: 1

    Congress has the right to impeach any federal employee. Write to your congressman and ask for a vote on the matter.

  16. Call the bluff by dbIII · · Score: 1

    So the claim is terrorists use "whatsapp" - then what are their names?
    I think the claim, like many others, is a lie.
    How many terrorists even use a timer on bombs let alone more advanced technology? They are just being used as an excuse to lie and push an agenda.

  17. Time for WhatsApp to move off shore by Bruce66423 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Given that it doesn't want to be subject to US harassment, it should find another country to be based in - and in which to pay

    TAXES

    it's only when the government is hit in its finances will it stop drifting towards a police state.

  18. Re:Here's the problem. by tlambert · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Before WhatsApp and the iPhone, there weren't any real obstacles. Given time and equipment, any physical safe can be opened.

    It *can* be, but it won't be. John DOE, Petitioner v. UNITED STATES. 487 U.S. 201 (108 S.Ct. 2341, 101 L.Ed.2d 184).

    "A defendant can be compelled to produce material evidence that is incriminating. Fingerprints, blood samples, voice exemplars, handwriting specimens, or other items of physical evidence may be extracted from a defendant against his will. But can he be compelled to use his mind to assist the prosecution in convicting him of a crime? I think not. He may in some cases be forced to surrender a key to a strongbox containing incriminating documents, but I do not believe he can be compelled to reveal the combination to his wall safe —- by word or deed."

    The police did not subsequently obtain a warrant to break open the safe, because they could not produce probable cause that the safe contained the bank records which the police were seeking.

    So no: there is no difference between encryption and a combination lock.

    What's interesting, however, is that there is, likewise, no difference between a lockbox key and a fingerprint to unlock a phone. So if you are stupid enough to use a fingerprint lock, they can compel you to put your finger on the sensor.

    The only difference here is that an iPhone is treated differently than a safe, because the iPhone isn't (yet) as secure as a safe, and the iPhone isn't (yet) treated as a container for data, rather than personal property. Obviously, the first time someone is smart enough to raise that precedent in an evidentiary hearing and get an iPhone hack in as an illegal search, things will go to hell for the police, and then for the FBI.

    So for right now, I think they will use it only where they've used it so far: where the perp doesn't own the device, and the actual owner gives permission.

    Of course, this means that, for most of the U.S., which buys their iPhone over time as part of agreeing to a service contract, until they go off contract, it's actually the telephone company which owns the iPhone, not the person in whose possession it happens to currently reside.

    That should make a nice court case, as well: when the police go to the telephone company and obtain permission. Expect if e.g. AT&T actually grants permission, that the week following, there's going to be a LOT of new T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint customers.

    I don't think that WhatsApp really understands what this means.

    I think they do. I think they have a pretty damned good idea, in fact, having talked to a number of executive officers of the company personally about the issue.

    Is this really what we want - for evidence of crimes to be unobtainable?

    No.

    In the "think of the children" argument you are making, this is what we want:

    We want the police to arrest the child pornographers at the point of the creation of the pornography, prior to its distribution, and prior to the further abuse of the children in question. If they can't do that, then what good are they to anyone?

    Great, you break into an iPhone, and find someone has a picture on it that was illegally created, and is illegal to posses. Big deal. For every copy you find, there are dozens or hundreds still out there. You haven't prevented the social harm by breaking into Guido The Child Perv's iPhone. You haven't even ameliorated it a bit, if Guido is a "leaf node" (i.e. he doesn't distribute the material himself).

    Marching in after a crime has been committed and figuratively beating the crap out of the perpetrator, while the victim is still lying in a pool of blood is not a useful operation. It clearly does not prevent future victims, particularly for things like murder, where the penalty takes so freaking long to enact that someone can start by getting their GED and have multiple PhDs before they ever

  19. Re: I thought they were too busy... by dbIII · · Score: 1

    Are you still going on about this email thing when there are real scandals like the Pfizer donations after Hillary decided to drop penalties and all the stuff about Hillary that came out with the Manning leak?
    Funny how the email was not a big deal with Palin but it is with Hillary - but it's still just being lazy instead of going after real scandals that are far worse.

  20. Really? by nospam007 · · Score: 4, Informative

    "WhatsApp has over a billion customers, overwhelmingly good people,"

    And they live in 194 countries, 193 of them not giving a shit what the FBI wants.

    1. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      > Correction: 189 of them not giving a shit what the FBI wants.

      You're thinking: USA, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ (5 eyes.)

      What you're misunderstanding is that what the FBI wants is representative of what governments want.

      Brazil has the same concern (re WhatsApp being blocked.) WhatsApp being allowed by appeal is temporary.
      How do you think China will view this?
      What about Burma? Myanamar? Singapore? Indonesia?
      And so on.

      Maybe a better question is this: which governments (and their law enforcement agencies) don't have the larger battle with encryption in their sights?

      Let me know when the answer to that isn't 0.

    2. Re:Really? by PPH · · Score: 1

      The CIA/NSA will take care of those 193.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  21. Re:Here's the problem. by KGIII · · Score: 3, Insightful

    > it's actually the telephone company which owns the iPhone

    I hate to do this, mostly 'cause I like you, but that's simply not true - by precedent. To give two good examples:

    1. Your home. If you're paid and current with your mortgage and the bank has not foreclosed and taken possession then the lending agency can not grant rights.
    2. Your car, just like the above. The dealership or credit agency can not give the police permission to search your vehicle. Well, they can. It won't hold up in court.

    So long as you're current then you have most every right you'd have with complete ownership. You own your house even while the bank owns it. You have the deed, they have a lien on the deed. The same thing for your car if it is not yet fully paid off. I'm not positive but I strongly suspect that if you're incarcerated and unable to make your payment then they still can't give permission to search.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  22. Re:Here's the problem. by lingu1st · · Score: 1

    Posting to undo hamfisted mod...

  23. I told you by kbg · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is exactly what Apple was saying would happen if they released the patch. This hack is now to be used for all other phones that have some information, which have no bearing to the original case. This is exactly the slippery slope we where warning about would happen.

    1. Re:I told you by kbg · · Score: 1

      - would be Apple's to invent themselves, and keep it themselves. Not to give tool to gov agency- they only wanted the opened phone.

      Where is that stated? Are you telling me that the FBI would have to give Apple the phone, which is part of evidence, and just let them handle it inhouse at their will at Apple with no government agent involved to supervise?

      - that Apple themselves should be responsible for tool once it was created, again the agency felt it is Apple's business IP so not agency's to keep.

      They don't need to own it, it is enough just have access to it to misuse it.

      - Apple said that once a tool was invented (as you reference), it would leak into the wild. (See point above for Apple's own responsibilities and realize the insanity of their scolding other's for their own possible future leak).

      Yes because at some point an agent has access to this tool and could duplicate it or take it with him and at that point it could be leaked into the wild. But even if it was only Apple employees, they are just humans and brittle as anyone. So by creating this tool in the first place there is always a change it will leak. It's like if a company that makes safes creates a bunch of master keys that open all safes. There is always a possibility that some former disgruntled employee will misuse that key. But if those master keys don't exists at all then there is no danger of them being misused.

      When Cook CREATED controversy on his own, and started pointing fingers- the agency went elsewhere as you know. then guess what happened *are you ready for this? Commenters, public opinion, and /.'s own member base COMPLAINED that the gov announced the tool would remain secret & not be released. Read that sentence again. The tool was not going public & the gov was keeping it in-house lest it cause havoc all over the world.

      I think people where just asking for responsible disclosure since it is obvious that this third party company found a serious security bug and a government agency now has access to information about this bug. This bug information should be released to Apple so that they can create a fix and then after some time the bug information should be disclosed to the general public.

  24. Such logic by wbr1 · · Score: 2

    Terrorists and good people lock their doors. Both use safes. Both drive cars. Should we ban these things as well to make your job easier cop? No. Fuck you, do your job, don't compromise my security and privacy to do so.

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.
  25. Translation by jenningsthecat · · Score: 2

    FTA:
    "WhatsApp has over a billion customers, overwhelmingly good people," Comey said. "But in that billion customers are terrorists and criminals, and so that now ubiquitous feature of all WhatsApp products will affect both sides of the house."

    Translation:
    "The United States has over 300 million people, overwhelmingly good people," Comey said. "But in that 300 million people are terrorists and criminals, and so that now-under-siege document called The Constitution will be further undermined by law enforcement agencies."

    --
    'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
  26. Re:Here's the problem. by tlambert · · Score: 1

    > We want the police to arrest the child pornographers at the point of the creation of the pornography, prior to its distribution, and prior to the further abuse of the children in question. If they can't do that, then what good are they to anyone?

    If they take that image with an iPhone then they can't ever obtain it prior to distribution.

    Which is to say that you are arguing that there is no need for police.

    Incorrect. They should battering-RAM down the door while the pornographer is there, with the naked child.

    That's enough to throw them in prison for a very, very long time. If you are in a reasonable jurisdiction, they will throw them in prison for life, or until the other inmates find out what they are in for, if they happen to be in general population. Whichever comes first.

  27. Re:Here's the problem. by tlambert · · Score: 1

    > Policework seems to be going down the same rathole that investigative journalism went down,

    Police are just following where society has gone - online and into electronic communications. When two people in a night club conspire to assault the person sitting between them using WhatsApp, where do police turn to show that it was a premeditated crime and more serious than something random if phones cannot be broken into?

    They get perp A to flip on perp B for some concession in sentencing. The police and prosecution have always done this with criminal conspiracies, and it is very rare that at least one person involved in the conspiracy does not flip.

    In other words: good old fashioned police work.

    > ... where the penalty takes so freaking long to enact ...

    That's a completely separate problem but if relevant evidence that would speed things up is on a modern iPhone then it is no longer reachable.

    In things like your first degree murder example, I mean enacting the death penalty quickly.

    While some wrongly convicted (definitionally NOT innocent, as they were convicted) people may die as a result, the purpose of the penal system is not to serve some epistemological Platonic ideal of "justice", nor is it to enact "vengeance", as some would argue (thus allowing victims families to testify prior to sentencing), it's to act as a deterrent to rule breakers *other* than the person being held up as an example of what society does to people who break the rules.

    Logically, their guilt kind of doesn't matter all that much. So rapidity serves the public good, more than accuracy.

    Are you in favor of making it easier or harder for police to do the work that is required of them?

    Not "easier at the expense of fundamental rights". The "harder" you refer to is not the same as "impossible", it simply means "requiring the expenditure of additional resources". Perhaps if they were to stop enforcing laws against consensual crime, such as drug abuse, or sodomy, they would have more resources to go after child pornographers.

    Sadly, no one is "thinking of the children", are they?

    > You haven't prevented the social harm by breaking into Guido The Child Perv's iPhone.

    But you may find a list of contacts that Guido has exchanged it with.

    Given my initial premise that Guido (and most like him) represent leaf nodes: you will not find that information.

    What actionable intelligence was obtained from the San Bernardino iPhone? That's what I thought.

    Maybe I'll put it like this: how do you envisage police obtaining evidence when a phone such as the iPhone (with WhatsApp) is used for all communication around planning a crime and executing it?

    By demonstrating probable cause that the iPhone contains the evidence they seek.

    And then getting a warrant and serving it on Apple to obtain access to the iPhone's contents from the iCloud backup, after not being fucking morons and causing the iCloud password to be changed.

  28. Demonization of Cryptography by ytene · · Score: 5, Insightful

    One of the interesting aspects of the Assault on Freedom being conducted by governments the world over is the incredibly selective, distorting arguments that they make. In this case, one of the FBI's central themes has been that "terrorists, criminals and paedophiles" use encryption to hide behind. The inference is that "general purpose encryption" is being used "to do or hide bad things".

    Even assuming that this argument were true, or had been substantiated by the claimant [neither in this case] it seems to be somewhat self-defeating.

    If we apply the same logic to, say, the right to private ownership of firearms [and, sorry for all those who wish to retain their Second Amendment rights, because I truly don't mean to come across as a troll] provides a very similar argument and case. The United States has some of the highest personal firearm ownership levels anywhere in the world, and some of the highest levels of firearms related murders and woundings. So if the FBI were to stand up and say, "Well, because so many people with firearms use them for criminal purposes, we'll just outlaw all personal firearm ownership..." Whether or not you consider that argument right or wrong is irrelevant in this case, because I am using it as a good example of the way that law enforcement are so selective when it comes to their arguments.

    We have also seen how acts of states that are conducted behind closed doors and without full public scrutiny (Wikileaks, Snowden, Panama Papers, etc) lead to corruption and vast amounts of white-collar crime. So if we apply the same logic that the FBI are using to attack encryption - and in attempting to stamp out bribery, corruption, fraud and tax evasion, obviously the FBI will also be demanding completely transparent government, all key decisions made before public hearings, complete financial transparency, with additional requirements for anyone worth more than say $10 Million and so on?

    What's that you say? No? Didn't think so...

  29. I remember the Good Old Days... by rnturn · · Score: 1

    ... when Comey was still telling everyone he wasn't obsessed with encryption, back doors, and such. Nowadays he doesn't even bother to lie about it.

    --
    CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
  30. Re:Here's the problem. by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

    > Policework seems to be going down the same rathole that investigative journalism went down,

    Police are just following where society has gone - online and into electronic communications. When two people in a night club conspire to assault the person sitting between them using WhatsApp, where do police turn to show that it was a premeditated crime and more serious than something random if phones cannot be broken into? The evidence exists (on the phone) but is inaccessible. Wanting to get into the phone is not being lazy, it is pursuing all relevant avenues available for collecting evidence.

    Can't tell what is causing what here, but it's really the "low hanging fruit" syndrome in action. Police in general are lazy and incompetent, much like the rest of society. But there you go; people willing to do the least amount of work for the greatest return for a nice pat on the back.

    --
    Life is not for the lazy.
  31. Re:Here's the problem. by fuzznutz · · Score: 1

    Your assertion is totally non-sequitor. Technological ability is independent to legal rights. The point of the GGP was that the phone company CANNOT grant the right to search and as such, any LEO MUST obtain a search warrant based upon probable cause to search a phone. Evidence obtained by the phone company "breaking in" to a users phone against his will with no valid search warrant would be suppressed by the court. i.e No conviction.

    As for the phone company owning a users "financed" phone: The last time I checked, breaking contract requires payment of an ETF or payment of the balance of the credit acount, not repossession of the phone. The phone company or credit agency has no legal ownership of the financed phone, nor lien. I believe you are conflating own/p0wn anyway. The court can tell the difference.

    Try to pay attention next time.

  32. Words are hard by tom229 · · Score: 1

    These articles really need to stop confusing "encryption" with password security. They've broken Apple's password security, probably an altogether trivial thing to do as security exploits in iPhones are fairly common. They can't "break [good] encryption" anymore than they can break gravity - it's math - it's fundamental laws of the universe. They can break software security measures designed to artificially bolster security of weak passwords though. Nothing to see here, use strong passwords folks, as always.

    --
    If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
  33. Re:"tool" ----- right... by tom229 · · Score: 1

    Ban mathematics? What? You know this is just an iOS exploit being used to brute force a weak pin code right? IPhones actively trade security for user convenience so they're never going to be difficult to compromise. Assuming you have data that actually needs to be encrypted (you don't) use strong ciphers with strong passwords and you'll be fine. Apple products don't really give you a choice in how they're encrypted so I wouldn't use them if your data is actually important.

    --
    If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
  34. Isn't the genie out of the bottle? by wcrowe · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Somebody help me out here. Since pgp is, essentially, open-sourced, how do government agencies expect to regulate encryption? Even if they force this company or that company to give them a "back door", what is there to prevent someone from running their own app? Do they not realize that criminal and terrorist organizations are capable of easily building their own encryption applications?

    --
    Proverbs 21:19
    1. Re:Isn't the genie out of the bottle? by PPH · · Score: 2

      It will be like money laundering. Since there are 'approved' methods of encryption (funds transfer), anyone using an 'unapproved', not back-doored method MUST be a criminal. And then use of the unapproved method becomes a crime in and of itself.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  35. Re:Here's the problem. by armanox · · Score: 1

    In things like your first degree murder example, I mean enacting the death penalty quickly.

    While some wrongly convicted (definitionally NOT innocent, as they were convicted) people may die as a result, the purpose of the penal system is not to serve some epistemological Platonic ideal of "justice", nor is it to enact "vengeance", as some would argue (thus allowing victims families to testify prior to sentencing), it's to act as a deterrent to rule breakers *other* than the person being held up as an example of what society does to people who break the rules.

    Logically, their guilt kind of doesn't matter all that much. So rapidity serves the public good, more than accuracy.

    Actually, I saw that very thing happen this year in a DUI accident case (in the Baltimore County Circuit Court) - the judge asked the victims to speak prior to sentencing the defendant.

    Maybe I'll put it like this: how do you envisage police obtaining evidence when a phone such as the iPhone (with WhatsApp) is used for all communication around planning a crime and executing it?

    By demonstrating probable cause that the iPhone contains the evidence they seek.

    And then getting a warrant and serving it on Apple to obtain access to the iPhone's contents from the iCloud backup, after not being fucking morons and causing the iCloud password to be changed.

    Agreed.

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  36. Re:Here's the problem. by D.McG. · · Score: 2

    Apple could only decrypt the drive. Each app can (and should) be encrypting its own data how it sees fit. Each session of a 3rd party messaging app should have a one-time key. Messages sent between 3rd party apps do not even need to be stored long-term. Having Apple unlock the phone is only going to help if criminals are using the built-in apps, which they're probably not. In the end, this just pisses off the law abiding citizens who enjoy their privacy, except now they now Apple can eavesdrop.

  37. Very sad I cannot mod this up. by tlambert · · Score: 1

    Very Very sad I cannot mod this up.

  38. Fine by me by wardrich86 · · Score: 1

    As long as they rely on hacking the system, and not forcing the system provider to fork over security keys. Let's just hope that Apple keeps on top of their security and continually fixes the holes that the FBI finds.

  39. Re:Here's the problem. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Now now, children, you're both right. You're talking about what is possible, fuzznutz and KGIII are talking about what is legally permissible.

  40. Re: I thought they were too busy... by DaHat · · Score: 1

    First... get with the times, calling her 'Hillary' is sexist.... doubly so when you only used last names of two other people.

    Are you still going on about this email thing

    I wasn't, I was replying to a comment of someone who was... and also citing a quote from the FBI director who currently has an investigation into the matter.

    when there are real scandals like the Pfizer donations after Hillary decided to drop penalties and all the stuff about Hillary that came out with the Manning leak?

    There are also the whole Clinton Cash allegations... and thanks to the FBI having her email server and having allegedly been able to recover all of the deleted emails, we may soon hear more about that just as soon as they interview her and wrap up their investigation.

    Funny how the email was not a big deal with Palin but it is with Hillary

    Nice false equivalency you've got there... or are you suggesting Palin not only had access to classified information, but allowed it to traverse her unsecured private account as we know Clinton did?

    The reason for Palin not being a scandal is probably for the same reason the Governor of Washington state admitting to using private email to conduct official business from time to time, and it's not just the matter of access to/misuse of classified information... but state vs federal law.

    but it's still just being lazy instead of going after real scandals that are far worse.

    Somehow, I imagine the FBI is able to walk & chew bubblegum at the same time, and given the # of agents that are on the case I am sure they have enough resource to investigate multiple directions related to Clinton's lawbreaking.

  41. Re: I thought they were too busy... by cellocgw · · Score: 1

    And Blumenthal confirmed today that there is no "Clinton bombshell."

    Meanwhile, Trump confirmed that his daughter is a "bombshell."

    --
    https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
  42. Re:Here's the problem. by fuzznutz · · Score: 1

    the phone company has a lot more control over the phone you call your property than you do yourself. It makes it very easy to get anything-and-everything from your phone with you being none-the-wiser. Regardless of if it is legally your property or not.

    Citation needed. In fact, the San Bernadino and New York City FBI lawsuits against Apple along with the voluminous other backlogged cases speak loudly against your position. The recent FBI threats against Apple and WhatsApp along with the Burr-Feinstein bill tends to undermine your credibility too. Telegram, SIgnal, WhatsApp, or any of the other fully encrypted apps leave the phone company out of the loop.

    And who the heck claimed that a phone company can grant anything at all ? Not me, and not the parent I was responding to. Strawman argument much

    You wrote > you definitily [sic] are not the owner (as in the one who makes all the decisions) of what it all can do. Not by a long shot.

    Parent wrote > Your car, just like the above. The dealership or credit agency can not give the police permission to search your vehicle. Well, they can. It won't hold up in court.

    Yes you are the owner and decision maker of your property. The phone company cannot "hack your phone" without your knowledge or permission unless backed by a warrant. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act specifically makes this illegal. Evidence only matters in court if it is collected legally. That was the whole point of this thread from the OP. You are the owner of the phone. LEO must get a warrant or permission to search. In San Bernadino, the owner (the county) gave permission. In the New York case, a warrant was issued. Your assertion that the phone company can hack the phone through some sort of OTA malware or baseband backdoor is irrelevant; parallel construction notwithstanding. Just last month a Federal court threw out evidence obtained by an invalid warrant that was overturned in a child porn case.

    Also, if it is yours from day one than why is a phone company allowed to vendor-lock your property to their services up until after the contract ends (if at all -- but thats a whole other discussion) ? Quite a contradiction, don't you say ? :-)

    Uh, no. It's allowed because it is not illegal. It is the same logic that locks the iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch to the work only with the Apple App Store "service" too. Or are you arguing that Apple should be required to "unlock" iPads to use the other software stores just because you own them?

    And in case you missed the big shift, phone contracts are pretty much defunct these days. You would have to be insane to sign away multiple years in a contract at the current rate of change in the telecommunications industry these days. I haven't been "under contract" for almost five years now. My last three phones I purchased outright and were unlocked from the start.

  43. Re:Here's the problem. by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 1

    (definitionally NOT innocent, as they were convicted)

    Innocent means you didn't do it. This is a matter of objective fact.

    Convicted means that a court has concluded "beyond reasonable doubt" that you did it, which is a matter of judgement.

    These two labels are not contradictory. It is entirely possible to be both innocent and convicted, i.e. you didn't actually do it but a court wrongly concluded that you did.

    --
    "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
  44. Re:Here's the problem. by mcl630 · · Score: 1

    In so far as WhatsApp is concerned, there's nothing stopping WhatsApp from changing the app so that both needs are served.

    Except that no one has ever found a way to create a backdoor that only law enforcement can use. An encryption backdoor can't distinguish between "good guys" and "bad guys."

    The challenge for services using encryption is to ensure that only the parties that have a right to know what is being sent are aware of it and nobody else. That includes keeping out hackers *AND* the CIA/DHS/NSA (that don't have any rights to that material) as well as allowing the FBI *ONLY* when so authorized.

    Same problem... a backdoor built for the "the FBI *ONLY* when so authorized" can be abused by the NSA or by FBI when not authorized. If you poke a hole in a wall, the hole doesn't know or care who looks through it.

  45. Re: I thought they were too busy... by dbIII · · Score: 1

    Calling her "Clinton" is confusing so why bother with such ridiculous nitpicking?
    And it's not false equivalency or a big deal - plus OF COURSE a State Governor had access to classified and other sensitive information. Where did you put your brain today? Why bother replying when you are in such a state?

    There are bigger scandals and she is part of them. Get off your backside and leave the petty shit alone - there's plenty to show she's done a lot worse than Palin because she's done a lot more than the email thing. I've got no idea why you didn't comprehend that much from my previous post when I even gave an example.
    Prove to us that those student loans were not a waste of money - I'm sure you can do better.

  46. Re:Here's the problem. by fuzznutz · · Score: 1

    And are you that thick that you do not understand that Apple had to refuse that openly put demand (or suffer a sharp drop in sales because their customers would not trust them anymore) ? Their refusal tells you absolutily [sic] nothing about their ability to enter their phones or not.

    Last I checked, Apple was not "the phone company." They are a manufacturer. Maybe you are ignorant of what a "phone company" is. Let me help you: https://www.google.com/#q=phon... Do you see Apple on that page?

    You original assertion was that the phone company could use their sooper dooper hacking ability to defeat encryption. Are you moving the goal posts again? I have no doubt Apple has the ability to defeat their own encryption methods on some phones running some version of ios. I have never said otherwise. When you can point out that the FBI goes to Verizon or AT&T to get plaintext on an iPhone, I will be impressed.

    You wrote --> The phone company can, and does have all kinds of (often called "debugging") access to your phone you have little to no clue about, and which, even if you knew, you can't do anything about. [...] Absolutily nothing that is stored on your phone or anything your phone can do that is outside the reach of a phone company, and thus the "law enforcement" agencies.

    Well, I call bullshit. I am asking you to give me proof. I asked earlier and you wanted me to do your homework for you. You want me to prove a negative.

    Yes, rather voluminous ... What was it, way less than 50 IIRC.

    Your memory is either faulty or you are willfully ignorant. On Slashdot, articles have reported between 100 and 400 at the Federal level and many more if you add in local cases awaiting resolution of the New York case resolution before litigating. A New York Manhattan Prosecutor is on record for 175 himself.

    Citation: http://abcnews.go.com/Technolo...

    Comey himself mentioned the following: He (Director Comey) also said that since October 2015, the FBI has examined "about 4,000 digital devices" and was unable to unlock "approximately 500."

    How many of those devices were actually encrypted?

    Citation from Ars Technica: http://arstechnica.com/tech-po... and Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article...

    Pardon me ? If the FBI has the Law on their side, why should they start with threats ? What you are saying there is that those feds legally have nothing to go on, but try to bully others into doing their bidding anyway.

    You do realize that is what TFA is about, right? The FBI threatening more litigation against tech companies using encryption by default.

    And yours speeks [sic] loudly of plain-old gullibility. Don't blindly believe everything you read, especially if the ones claiming something have much to win by you believeng [sic] it.

    I do not believe everything I read, including you. I am still waiting for you to cite one single case where a "phone company," which is an entity distinctly different from a phone manufacturer, hacked a cell phone for any law enforcement agency and successfully defeated encryption permitting them to prosecute. I do believe that Apple does have the resources currently to defeat encryption on some of their phones. I also believe that Apple will work to remove that capability to prevent being caught in the position of being "bullied" (as you said) again, provided the Burr-Feinstein bill goes nowhere. And as I

  47. Re: I thought they were too busy... by DaHat · · Score: 1

    Calling her "Clinton" is confusing so why bother with such ridiculous nitpicking?

    Not in the context of the conversation.

    And it's not false equivalency or a big deal

    Yes, it remains a false equivalency, and your dismissing of the applicable laws further demonstrates it.

    Apples, meet oranges.

    - plus OF COURSE a State Governor had access to classified and other sensitive information.

    Bullshit. What sort of *classified* (per federal law) information would Palin have had access to when governor of Alaska? Not sensitive mind you, but *classified*? Think you've got something? Is there any evidence of her mishandling that classified information? No? Then the false equivalency remains.

    I seem to recall a newspaper asking it's readers to go through her emails to find incriminating bits... and ended up not finding much, so much for that scandal! On the other hand, the Inspector General at the State Department found oodles of classified information which lead to an FBI investigation.

    Yup, same exact things!

    Where did you put your brain today? Why bother replying when you are in such a state?

    Physician, heal thy self.

    There are bigger scandals and she is part of them.Get off your backside and leave the petty shit alone - there's plenty to show she's done a lot worse than Palin because she's done a lot more than the email thing.

    Which, if you were paying attention you would realize the email scandal is a major part of as it is likely to be treasure trove pointing to other illegality & corruption.

    I've got no idea why you didn't comprehend that much from my previous post when I even gave an example.

    Funny how you didn't comprehend my response, which I had to echo above.

    Prove to us that those student loans were not a waste of money - I'm sure you can do better.

    I need not prove anything to you, the facts are there, you simply opt to ignore them.

  48. Re: I thought they were too busy... by dbIII · · Score: 1

    Not in the context of the conversation

    Then how about we have a more serious one instead of pointless nitpicking that ignores more serious issues.

    Also, you calling bullshit on the irrelevant side issue ignores that the there are military based in Alaska and some of them are even under the direct control of the governor of Alaska - where did you put your brain today?

  49. Re: I thought they were too busy... by DaHat · · Score: 1

    Then how about we have a more serious one instead of pointless nitpicking that ignores more serious issues.

    Good idea, shame you keep insisting on it and deflecting.

    Also, you calling bullshit on the irrelevant side issue ignores that the there are military based in Alaska and some of them are even under the direct control of the governor of Alaska?

    You keep making such claims, yet fail to substantiate *ANY* of it. It's almost as if you don't know what you are talking about... or are you one of those being paid by the Clinton campaign to 'correct' people on the internet?

    Palin's emails were released, multiple outlets put them online, here is one that still is. It's reported that some 2200 pages were redacted in some way, to quote one article (notice how I keep quoting sources? You might try it.):

    The state redacted more than 2,200 pages worth of materials, citing exemptions to public-records laws, including the privacy provision of the Alaska Constitution, attorney-client privilege, work-product privilege and executive and deliberative-process privileges.

    So many named carve outs... and yet 'classified information', 'military secrets', & 'common sense from dbIII' aren't listed as reasons, odd that?

    Yes, it is possible that *IF* classified information existed in the emails and was found, it accidently got lumped in with one of those other categories... only that still assumes that she had access in the first place, something you continue to have failed to prove she did.

    If you cannot, I will accept your admission of defeat on this matter and treat your statements of "ZOMG! Sarah Palin did the same thing!" as the same sort of conspiracy theory as "9/11 was an inside job" I hear from similarly grounded people.

  50. Re: I thought they were too busy... by dbIII · · Score: 1

    You keep making such claims, yet fail to substantiate *ANY* of it

    If you had paid attention in high school I would not need to would I?

    In short - people who are in charge of things tend to hear things about those those things (such as the National Guard etc) - I've got no idea why you are in denial of the obvious over what is really a side issue anyway.

    Look up the Pfizer stuff - Hillary's email stuffup looks as trivial as Palin's in comparison to a real scandal.

  51. Re: I thought they were too busy... by dbIII · · Score: 1

    If you cannot, I will accept your admission of defeat on this matter

    WTF?
    Are you playing some stupid game here with rules that make you look like an idiot, such as playing "devil's advocate" to take a side you know is utter bullshit? That would explain the idiocy, since I keep thinking you cannot possibly be as dense as you appear to be.

  52. Re: I thought they were too busy... by DaHat · · Score: 1

    If you had paid attention in high school I would not need to would I?

    Dunno about your HS, mine was rather boring and a waste of my time (not unlike this conversation)... which is why I went and got a GED and later a masters.

    In short - people who are in charge of things tend to hear things about those those things (such as the National Guard etc) - I've got no idea why you are in denial of the obvious over what is really a side issue anyway.

    That is different than what you've said. My focus has been on legitimate, approved access to *classified* information (clearly you've missed me highlighting the word, but then words don't have any specific meaning, do they?)

    Which again, you are relying on the possibility she *may* have heard something... and that info *may* have traversed her personal email account... neither of which have you offered a smidgen of evidence of... so I'm going to conclude that you are a conspiracy theorist as much as anyone who screams "9/11 was an inside job" or chemtrails.

    Unlike either of those, there is sizable evidence of wrongdoing by Sec Clinton in her use of email, and non regarding Gov Palin.

    Look up the Pfizer stuff - Hillary's email stuffup looks as trivial as Palin's in comparison to a real scandal.

    I'm familiar, perhaps you should look up my references to the FBI being able to walk and chew bubblegum at the same time.

  53. Re: I thought they were too busy... by DaHat · · Score: 1

    OMG WTF LGBTQRST BBQ FTW!!!

    Are you playing some stupid game here with rules that make you look like an idiot, such as playing "devil's advocate" to take a side you know is utter bullshit? That would explain the idiocy, since I keep thinking you cannot possibly be as dense as you appear to be.

    It's called picking your battles, you should look into it!

    I have cited specific sources several times, you have failed to do so, almost falling back to the tired line of the helpless of "educate yourself!". It is clear you are no longer worthy of my time.

    Goodbye.

  54. Re: I thought they were too busy... by dbIII · · Score: 1

    I would much prefer not to be worthy of the time you are spending playing such petty little games at my expense.