Apple's new encryption to lock out Government

LazyLion

LazyLion

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Apple unveiled new policies that block its access to user's mobile devices, even with a warrant, the tech giant revealed late Wednesday.

Apple's updated privacy terms indicate that under its new mobile operating system, iOS 8, the company will not have access to customer passwords.

"Your personal data such as photos, messages (including attachments), email, contacts, call history, iTunes content, notes, and reminders, is placed under the protection of your passcode," the new policy states on its website.

"Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data. So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."

The iOS 8 operating system is available on the iPhone 6, which goes on sale Friday.

The update comes in the wake of revelations of massive government surveillance programs that sweep up data from computers and other devices.

Leaked documents from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden have highlighted concerns about the role of major tech firms in these programs.

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook said the company is dedicated to protection of personal data.

"Our business model is very straightforward," he said in a message to Apple users.

"We sell great products. We don't build a profile based on your email content or web browsing habits to sell to advertisers. We don't 'monetize' the information you store on your iPhone or in iCloud. And we don't read your email or your messages to get information to market to you."

The update comes following a leak of nude celebrity photos from their iCloud storage. Apple said its cloud servers were not breached, but that celebrities had their passwords stolen or fell victim to schemes to give up their passwords.

rl/jv

APPLE INC.


Source : Sapa-AFP /gm
Date : 18 Sep 2014 16:15
 
Don't governments ban the handset then?
And haven't BB had this and unable to access the data anyhow?

"Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data. So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."
 
So this means that governments will need to requisition the synced data off Apple's servers instead.
 
New encryption does not mean anything to security.. The weakest link is still the person who thinks 'password12345' is a good password on their iCloud account
 
Dolby said:
Don't governments ban the handset then?
And haven't BB had this and unable to access the data anyhow?

"Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data. So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."
Click to expand...
I believe they are trouble with the Chinese authorities.

However, don't think NSA and GSHQ aren't working to get around. They certainly have the resources and determination as do the Russians and the Chinese. But I'm pleased Apple are at least trying. I hope this encouraged others to do the same.
 
Dolby said:
Don't governments ban the handset then?
And haven't BB had this and unable to access the data anyhow?

"Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data. So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."
Click to expand...

Yes, countries like India, China, Russia, etc., will ban the distribution and use of the new device and OS. Look at the Blackberry situation a couple of years back.

RIM has been there and done that, now Apple will learn themselves, instead of from others' mistakes.
 
Garyvdh said:
Apple unveiled new policies that block its access to user's mobile devices, even with a warrant, the tech giant revealed late Wednesday.

Apple's updated privacy terms indicate that under its new mobile operating system, iOS 8, the company will not have access to customer passwords.

"Your personal data such as photos, messages (including attachments), email, contacts, call history, iTunes content, notes, and reminders, is placed under the protection of your passcode," the new policy states on its website.

"Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data. So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."

The iOS 8 operating system is available on the iPhone 6, which goes on sale Friday.

The update comes in the wake of revelations of massive government surveillance programs that sweep up data from computers and other devices.

Leaked documents from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden have highlighted concerns about the role of major tech firms in these programs.

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook said the company is dedicated to protection of personal data.

"Our business model is very straightforward," he said in a message to Apple users.

"We sell great products. We don't build a profile based on your email content or web browsing habits to sell to advertisers. We don't 'monetize' the information you store on your iPhone or in iCloud. And we don't read your email or your messages to get information to market to you."

The update comes following a leak of nude celebrity photos from their iCloud storage. Apple said its cloud servers were not breached, but that celebrities had their passwords stolen or fell victim to schemes to give up their passwords.

rl/jv

APPLE INC.


Source : Sapa-AFP /gm
Date : 18 Sep 2014 16:15
Click to expand...

Blackberry has been doing that for years.

edit: i see everyone beat me to it.
 
GOOGLE TO BOOST ANDROID ENCRYPTION, JOINING APPLE

Google and Apple on Thursday said they are hardening encryption tactics on devices powered by their mobile operating systems and tossing away the keys.

The move should mean that even the government with its court-issued warrants will be blocked from getting hold of pictures, messages and other personal data stored on forthcoming Android or Apple smartphones and tablets.

Google and Apple are among Internet titans intent on firming up trust shaken by revelations of massive online spying by US officials and by the recent hacking of celebrity iCloud accounts that exposed nude photos.

A Google spokesman told AFP that encryption is already offered for the Android system on smartphones and tablets, but will be turned on automatically in the upcoming version of software.

"For over three years Android has offered encryption, and keys are not stored off of the device, so they cannot be shared with law enforcement," the spokesman said in a statement.

"As part of our next Android release, encryption will be enabled by default out of the box, so you won't even have to think about turning it on."

Google has not said when the next update of Android is due for release.

Apple announced that its new encryption is built into the iOS 8 operating system available on the iPhone 6, which goes on sale Friday. It also can be installed on many existing iPhones and iPads.

Apple is essentially allowing people to lock iPhones, iPads or iPods using encrypted passwords without giving itself any keys.

"Your personal data such as photos, messages (including attachments), email, contacts, call history, iTunes content, notes, and reminders, is placed under the protection of your passcode," says the new policy on Apple's website.

"Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data. So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."

Leaked documents from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden have highlighted concerns about the role of major tech firms in government spying programs.

Internet titans including Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo and Google have been campaigning for the freedom to let people know more about requests made under the auspices of anti-terrorism law that mandates such queries be kept secret.

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook said the company is dedicated to protection of personal data and that security at iCloud was beefed up after photos stored online were pilfered from celebrity accounts.

The Cupertino, California-based company insisted there was no breach of its cloud storage system, but that hackers used "targeted attacks" aimed at celebrities.

An Apple statement suggested that the celebrities had their accounts hacked by using easy-to-guess passwords, or by giving up their personal data to cybercriminals posing as Apple, a technique known as "phishing."

Companies say they are required to comply as best they can with legitimate court orders and other legal requests, but fight for people's privacy along the way.

"We have never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will," Cook said.

Privacy activists praise the effort and hope more Internet firms will follow suit.

"This is very awesome for privacy," Joseph Hall, chief technologist at the Washington-based Center for Democracy and Technology, said of Apple encrypting passwords.

"This is an important assurance for people. It's not security just some of the time, it's security all of the time."

Hall added that the move is "good for the industry because there is a real deficit of trust" after the celebrity photo hacking.

Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said it was "good news for Internet users."

But Rotenberg said other privacy issues still need to be addressed, notably how Apple handles personal data for its HealthKit system for fitness monitoring.

"The issue is the flow of user data to the app developers," Rotenberg told AFP. "Apple has created a platform that can allow for the transfer of sensitive medical data."

Jeffrey Chester at the Center for Digital Democracy also expressed caution.

"Apple at the moment is serving as a data collection 'middleman,' as it builds a new business as a financial and health data supplier," Chester said.

gc-rl/bfm

Google

Apple


Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 19 Sep 2014 04:31
 
Garyvdh said:
GOOGLE TO BOOST ANDROID ENCRYPTION, JOINING APPLE

Google and Apple on Thursday said they are hardening encryption tactics on devices powered by their mobile operating systems and tossing away the keys.

The move should mean that even the government with its court-issued warrants will be blocked from getting hold of pictures, messages and other personal data stored on forthcoming Android or Apple smartphones and tablets.

Google and Apple are among Internet titans intent on firming up trust shaken by revelations of massive online spying by US officials and by the recent hacking of celebrity iCloud accounts that exposed nude photos.

A Google spokesman told AFP that encryption is already offered for the Android system on smartphones and tablets, but will be turned on automatically in the upcoming version of software.

"For over three years Android has offered encryption, and keys are not stored off of the device, so they cannot be shared with law enforcement," the spokesman said in a statement.

"As part of our next Android release, encryption will be enabled by default out of the box, so you won't even have to think about turning it on."

Google has not said when the next update of Android is due for release.

Apple announced that its new encryption is built into the iOS 8 operating system available on the iPhone 6, which goes on sale Friday. It also can be installed on many existing iPhones and iPads.

Apple is essentially allowing people to lock iPhones, iPads or iPods using encrypted passwords without giving itself any keys.

"Your personal data such as photos, messages (including attachments), email, contacts, call history, iTunes content, notes, and reminders, is placed under the protection of your passcode," says the new policy on Apple's website.

"Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data. So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."

Leaked documents from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden have highlighted concerns about the role of major tech firms in government spying programs.

Internet titans including Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo and Google have been campaigning for the freedom to let people know more about requests made under the auspices of anti-terrorism law that mandates such queries be kept secret.

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook said the company is dedicated to protection of personal data and that security at iCloud was beefed up after photos stored online were pilfered from celebrity accounts.

The Cupertino, California-based company insisted there was no breach of its cloud storage system, but that hackers used "targeted attacks" aimed at celebrities.

An Apple statement suggested that the celebrities had their accounts hacked by using easy-to-guess passwords, or by giving up their personal data to cybercriminals posing as Apple, a technique known as "phishing."

Companies say they are required to comply as best they can with legitimate court orders and other legal requests, but fight for people's privacy along the way.

"We have never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will," Cook said.

Privacy activists praise the effort and hope more Internet firms will follow suit.

"This is very awesome for privacy," Joseph Hall, chief technologist at the Washington-based Center for Democracy and Technology, said of Apple encrypting passwords.

"This is an important assurance for people. It's not security just some of the time, it's security all of the time."

Hall added that the move is "good for the industry because there is a real deficit of trust" after the celebrity photo hacking.

Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said it was "good news for Internet users."

But Rotenberg said other privacy issues still need to be addressed, notably how Apple handles personal data for its HealthKit system for fitness monitoring.

"The issue is the flow of user data to the app developers," Rotenberg told AFP. "Apple has created a platform that can allow for the transfer of sensitive medical data."

Jeffrey Chester at the Center for Digital Democracy also expressed caution.

"Apple at the moment is serving as a data collection 'middleman,' as it builds a new business as a financial and health data supplier," Chester said.

gc-rl/bfm

Google

Apple


Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 19 Sep 2014 04:31
Click to expand...

Excellent ... F**k the government
 
It's astonishing that some people actually fall for this sort of posturing by Apple and Google. In all likelihood the new systems are even more easily accessible than their previous versions, just not in the same way. It's quite possible to brick up the front door and the backdoor, showing the world how secure you are ... but never mentioning the tunnel behind the rotating fireplace.

In ten years or less well know the truth that Apple and Google were lying. But it'll be fine, because it's in the name of national security.
 
Last edited:
Arthur said:
It's astonishing that some people actually fall for this sort of posturing by Apple and Google. In all likelihood the new systems are even more easily accessible than their previous versions, just not in the same way. It's quite possible to brick up the front door and the backdoor, showing the world how secure you are ... but never mentioning the tunnel behind the rotating fireplace.

In ten years or less well know the truth that Apple and Google were lying. But it'll be fine, because it's in the name of national security.
Click to expand...

Was coming to say this. I mean did the people not note how Edwards leaks showed that the US goverment requested exactly that... a backdoor to be placed into supposed secure and encrypted software. I recall Skype being one of them.

I guess people also forgot the Lavabit saga?
 
Garyvdh said:
GOOGLE TO BOOST ANDROID ENCRYPTION, JOINING APPLE
Click to expand...

The encryption option on the Huawei P6 is removed by I assume Huawei themselves. Why? What dem commie Chinese planning????!!!!!!! :confused::mad:



:p


Seriously though, I am not mad about the idea of Huawei disabling a security feature that is built in by default by Google into Android. Makes one wonder.
 
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