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Apple Is Building An Online Portal For Police To Make Data Requests (cnet.com)
In a letter last Tuesday to Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Apple said it is working on an online portal for law enforcement officials to submit and track requests for data and obtain responses from the company. Apple also said it's "creating a dedicated team to help train law enforcement officials around the world in digital forensics," reports CNET. From the report: The letter, seen by CNET, addresses recommendations made in a report issued earlier this year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) regarding cybersecurity and the "digital evidence needs" of law enforcement agencies. Apple said in the letter that it's eager to adopt the report's recommendations, including making upgrades to its law enforcement training program. This includes developing an online training module for police that mirrors Apple's current in-person training, according to the letter and to details on the company's website.
"This will assist Apple in training a larger number of law enforcement agencies and officers globally, and ensure that our company's information and guidance can be updated to reflect the rapidly changing data landscape," the site says. Apple also reiterated in the letter that it's "committed to protecting the security and privacy of our users" and that company initiatives and "the work we do to assist investigations uphold this fundamental commitment."
"This will assist Apple in training a larger number of law enforcement agencies and officers globally, and ensure that our company's information and guidance can be updated to reflect the rapidly changing data landscape," the site says. Apple also reiterated in the letter that it's "committed to protecting the security and privacy of our users" and that company initiatives and "the work we do to assist investigations uphold this fundamental commitment."
How they did it before? They have no idea how to work with the police?
They didn't have any data to share.
First answer of wrongness that comes to mind: Some compromised or even crooked cop could more conveniently collect all kinds of personal data. By compromised I'm actually thinking of some of Putin's American recruits and by crooked I'm thinking in political terms like ol' Sheriff Arpaio. You may have different candidates in mind, but no matter how different our viewpoints, I bet we agree that this portal has more potential as a weapon than as a tool.
Now let's watch the stupidium of Slashdot in action! Any weapons-grade isotopes out there? These days it's mostly just isotopes of snide.
https://slashdot.org/comments....
Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
Law enforcement has more requests for WH criminal data than from all other Apple users combined.
will master key unlock code requests be put it?
I mean, seriously, have we not learned anything about the government's, or any government's ability to abuse their power?
"Eve of Destruction", it's not just for old hippies anymore...
It's almost like we have been here before.
So if I manage to hack po-dunk police force's systems, I can data straight from Apple?
thwarting the ebil alex jones and escorting the fuzz into your iphone.
I think this will mean that at least U.K and U.S. authorities can just surf in and take what they want. You don't do thorough inspection on the legal basis of the request when you open a "service portal".
Fuck you Apple.
So sick and tired of these companies helping the crooks.
For example - someone steals your phone or device? Good luck getting Apple to cooperate with you.
I guess it's part of the globalist free pass agenda. Kindof like letting illegals drive without license, insurance, etc. and not ticketing or arresting them.
...Is becoming the year where corporations decided to start playing chicken with the world. "Go ahead. Dump our products and platforms. We dare you. Watch as we invade your privacy anyway and sell your data to the highest and lowest bidders. Watch as we turn that data against you as we de-platform you, censor you and gag you. Go on... Appeal to the government, if you think that will help. We sell them data, too, and they're just as addicted to it as everyone else. We're now training your police officers. We'll soon be driving your cars. You won't be able to go anywhere without us. We already control what you see and hear... Just try to get a bank account or a job or start a business without us. You think you're safe from us using alternate, independent platforms and services? We'll just get the credit unions to stop transferring you money entirely. Even Elon Musk isn't above personally cutting off the livelihoods of law-abiding citizens... Watch as we lobby government after government to go cashless. Giving us control of ALL of your money... Watch as we put meaningless sensors, microphones and cameras in everything. Want a new 4k TV? We want to watch you in your living room. Need more hard drive space on your tablet? Let us carry that data for you on a cloud. We promise we parse and save everything. Just try to live without us. We are the very air you breathe."
http://127.0.0.1/
Most other SNPs have web portals for LE requests, this is to streamline it for Apple and for LE. The web portal doesn't give the requester the information, so no fear there, it serves a different purpose. In order to get the user data, judicial authorization still has to be provided and once they have that, it will be forwarded to the requesting Agency / Officer.
The potential to abuse X is persistent - it always exists. The risks to protect the public and aid LE with investigations outweighs any privacy concern... ultimately, it's pretty simple - if you didn't do anything, LE won't bother with your data as they have enough on the go with actual investigations. If you did do something and they have judicial authorization, then they should get to your data.
... particularly with the current president and his repeatedly-stated intention to abuse law enforcement as a tool with which to attack his political enemies. I wonder why Tim Cook flip-flopped and gave in to the thuggery.
Imagine all the people...
That link "the company's website" is nothing more than an affiliate link: "https://www.apple.com/ ?afid=p231%7Ccamref%3A1011l7vU&cid=AOS-US-AFF-PHG"
Slashdot editors are getting dirtier every day.
I'm not a complete idiot... Some parts are missing.
INB4 a link to Goatse Guy.
Have gnu, will travel.
Whenever I see the government wanting access to our emails, diaries, social media, etc. it makes me wonder, how on earth did the police ever do it's job before smartphones? Is the crime rate increasing because people can instant message each other or secure their diary entries or archives of emails? What am I missing here. In the past when someone got murdered, what evidence was used to find and convict them that today is inaccessible because of Apple's technology?
Or is all this "we need everyone's data" only for cyber crimes?
Ah yes. There is always an apple apologist idiot that want the criminals to have hi-tech equipment and thinks the gumshoes should have a pencil and a notepad to do their jobs.
Just have them telnet into that.
I would like to suggest a system for Apple to implement. It would consist of a series of standardized steps to ensure police forces get all the help they deserve as they try to turn enterprises built and paid for by others to their own ends.
Completion of each stage of the process would initiate the start of the next, ensuring a seamless, orderly progression which would service the police most efficiently. These steps in the system I'm proposing, in order, would start with " B egin ", when the basic contact information from the requesting police officer is accepted, recorded and verified. Next would be " L earn ", which would include an extremely lengthy, comprehensive questionnaire allowing the officer to define the force's needs and expectations. When this questionnaire has been successfully completed, reviewed and verified, the next step, " O ffer " would be initiated. This is when the company would tell the police force what it was able to do to accommodate its needs. Then would come " W ork ", when the actual process of informing customers that the police needed some of their private information would commence, and the company would assemble all the data the thankful citizens provided.
After a pause to ensure all relevant information had been provided, the next phase, " M anage " would commence. This would consist of another lengthy questionnaire to be filled out by the police, when they would let the company know whether their needs had been met. If not, at this point an actual live interaction between a company official and a police representative might have to occur. Police expectations could be managed and redefined to ensure that they are reasonable and achievable within a democratic context. Finally there would be " E xit ", when the police force representative would fill out another questionnaire that would allow the company to judge its effectiveness at meeting the needs of the government's information-gathering initiatives.
For efficiency, and to let various security agencies know what they should expect, the first initial of each step of my process would form the acronym introducing the portal.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
1) Several years ago I worked at a company that did hosting for the police. Think Windows NT. They frequently asked to do a reset of our servers. To do this, they send a fax. One day the fax was not readable, so I called for verification.
The person that had signed the fax was not working at that department for a few years. So I asked them from then on they need to have the fax signed AND dated by the person sending the fax, otherwise it would be seen as fraude and falsification of forms. So yeah, I treatend the police.
2) A different department always tried to get data from us about customers without a warrent. Well, fuck you. No warrent, no info.
If they are doing this automatic, you can bet that the logins will be floating around and that they WILL find a way to get data. It also means that others will be able to get that data.
So to make this possible, the judge needs to make the warrent somehow available for Apple over a secure connection. Technically this could be done. I see this done for financial information in Belgium all the time. No issues.
However this should NOT be done for Apple or any company. This should be done for every company and accessible to every company that wants it AND it should be free or cheap with the absolutely needed chacks in place that no company can read the one from others.
Also that no other police department will have access to the data.
It would also mean that this is a nation wide system. That means that all judges and policedepartments and companies need to be connected to the same system.
Technically I see no issues. Bit of SSL and XML and you are done. To make it, I would forsee a failed system after 10 years of building and a few rich consultants.
And even then it will encourage rubberstamping and it will not be secure due to the fact that 90% of hacking is social enineering.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Good thing they got in bed with the chinks... its had no negative consequences!
Training programs for LEOs is a proven failed endeavor. They can't even figure out that a diabetic blowing a 3+% BAC (in the coma / death range) on a breathalizer while telling them they are sober is in fact a diabetic and that is a thing with ketone levels.
And there's always a cop/spy apologist idiot who thinks we all ought to share all our secrets with law enforcement, usually without even knowing we've done so.