A few months ago on December the 2nd, Syed Farook alongside his wife Tashfeen killed 14 people at a health clinic in California city. Why am I telling you this? Because Syed Farook was found in possession of an encrypted Apple iPhone 5C.
As we know, encryption is the most secure way of storing private and sensitive data and the only way an encrypted device can be unlocked is via a secure data key, that only the owner of the encrypted device would know. But in this case, the owner’s demise has led the FBI to approach Apple so that they can decrypt the smartphone in question.
The FBI argue that by decrypting the smartphone, they would be able to access the attacker’s messages on iMessage potentially revealing additional information about the bomber, helping them learn more about such future attacks. But the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook has made it clear that Apple will not under any circumstances help in decrypting the device and have decided to go against the order in their statement which can be found HERE.
By providing the FBI with backdoor access on Syed’s personal information, Apple would not only jeopardize it, but would also make their millions of customers question how secure their personal data is in the hands of Apple, something they are trying to avoid. Apple stays adamant on there being no way to access this data and the development of a tool to do so by the FBI is being deemed “too dangerous”, Tim Cook going as far as naming the tool to do so “GovtOS.”
While there are individuals labeling Apple and Tim Cook as supportive of terrorism, giants like Microsoft, Facebook and Google to name a few have sided with Apple with them even filing in court against the FBI. This does not come as a surprise as these giants too would see the need to keep the details of their numerous consumers private and secure.
The saga continues as I write and it is far from over. If there is anything significant to report in the future, expect there to be updates to this article. But I’d like to know what you think on this issue.
Do you think this is a publicity stunt by Apple like many suggest and they ought to provide what the FBI requires or are they right in the approach they’re taking? Take the floor in the comments section below!
