The history of cross-statements between Apple and the FBI goes back several years and always because the Cupertino company does not provide access to devices such as the iPhone in the investigation of crimes. The US feds always end up turning to third parties for this and, once again, it appears they have succeeded. Below we detail more about this recent case.
What is worth more? Privacy or security?
Privacy and security are two elements that are always linked in one way or another, but that sometimes cannot coexist. Apple has closed systems such as iOS on iPhones that allow you to safely save any data or file that is stored on devices, making it impossible to access them without user permission.
This privacy is superimposed on all occasions for security reasons, such as when a criminal is arrested and security agents need to have access to their mobile to clarify the facts. Apple always refuses, not for being against the investigations but for preserving the privacy of the iPhone regardless of who owns it and whether or not it has committed a crime.
The FBI has tried to intervene several iPhones in recent years, asking Apple for help in doing so and always finding a brick wall when it comes to accessing terminal information. That is why they have had to resort to tedious and expensive systems that take advantage of some vulnerability to access the system, although we insist on the little ease of this and its almost nil utility for the rest of ordinary users.
The FBI has already accessed Alshamrani’s iPhone
Mohammed Saeed Alshamran is the author of a terrible attack that took place at the end of last year on the coast of Florida. The shooting carried out by this man at a naval air base was claimed by Al-Qaeda shortly after it occurred. The FBI, as it happens in all these cases, intervened fully in the investigation. At one point they asked Apple for access to the iPhone 5 and iPhone 7 that this man owned, but the company only provided some iCloud data, without giving full access to the terminals.
CNN recently reported that the FBI had already been able to access both terminals. It is not explained with certainty which method they resorted to this time, but everything indicates that they could again have contacted a company that offers this type of service at a high price. These companies take advantage of the security loopholes detected in old versions of iOS to decipher the access code to the phones.
Zerodium is one of the expert companies in finding this type of security holes and a few weeks ago announced that it would stop reporting these flaws in iOS for a few months because they had received numerous shipments in these months. They also indicated that there are some unresolved vulnerabilities that would be affecting a multitude of iPhone and iPad. The CEO stated that they hope that iOS 14 could be better in this regard.
In any case, the debate is back on the table. What are your impressions? Do you think Apple works well or should they give in under certain circumstances? You can leave us your impressions in the comment box.