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New York DA Wants Apple, Google To Roll Back Encryption (tomsguide.com)

Posted by msmash on from the opposing-views dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. called on Apple and Google to weaken their device encryption, arguing that thousands of crimes remained unsolved because no one can crack into the perpetrators' phones. Vance, speaking at the International Conference on Cyber Security here, said that law enforcement officials did not need an encryption "backdoor," sidestepping a concern of computer-security experts and device makers alike. Instead, Vance said, he only wanted the encryption standards rolled back to the point where the companies themselves can decrypt devices, but police cannot. This situation existed until September 2014, when Apple pushed out iOS 8, which Apple itself cannot decrypt. "Tim Cook was absolutely right when he told his shareholders that the iPhone changed the world," Vance said. "It's changed my world. It's letting criminals conduct their business with the knowledge we can't listen to them."

5 of 254 comments (clear)

  1. Re:How were crimes solved before cell phones? by Zak3056 · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's how Billy the Kid got off... they tried him for shooting Sheriff William Brady, but he was acquitted because his iPhone was encrypted and they couldn't get at the data. They even tried getting Steve Jobs' great grandfather involved, but the sonofabitch insisted that he didn't even know what a cell phone was, much less how to remove the encryption from one.

    Julius Rosenberg also went free because they couldn't decrypt his thumb drive to prove he was spying for the Soviets.

    At least that's the impression I get from listening to these assholes whining that they can't spy on all of us 24/7.

    --
    What part of "shall not be infringed" is so hard to understand?
  2. Re:How were crimes solved before cell phones? by Yvan256 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Terrorists took over some planes? Let's enact crazy "security" that can't actually catch anything, treats everyone like a criminal, and make sure we grope kids and grandma so we don't look like we're profiling.

    Banning planes would have been easier.

  3. Re:And you shouldn't be.... by npslider · · Score: 1, Funny

    Too late, Hillary just sent the email containing the precise plan!

  4. Re:And you shouldn't be.... by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hillary's email was intercepted by the Russians at the request of Trump, and forwarded off to Wikileaks.

    --
    Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  5. Re:And you shouldn't be.... by npslider · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'll turn on Fox News for the fair and balanced report!