If the issue is new, I wouldn't expect all the candidates to come out with strong statements either way until they know what is happening. I just looked at it this morning. I guess Trump has commented directly and Jeb has commented in the past. We'll see.
I saw mention of a public storage lot as an example. They aren't asking for access to one storage locker where they can cut the lock. They want a master key turned over that will access all of them anytime they wish. That is what bothers me.
That makes me wonder if Apple could rig it so there was some way to access a specific phone when in the physical possession of law enforcement that would destroy the phone functionally, but give access to the data already on it.
Certainly. You need such a rig for hardware development. It probably involves decapping chips, exposing board traces, codes for the encrypted bus, etc. Something that could only be done with the physical device and be extremely hard/expensive to duplicate. And certainly functionally ruin the phone from being used in normal circumstances. This is necessary part of developing any hardware product with an ounce of security. There isn't a master key that Apple CAN hand over at present. The FBI is asking them to backdoor their product and allow the FBI to essentially have a master key. Oh, sure, they're claiming it is for one phone. And they might even believe it themselves.
If Apple bows to the FBI on this, every other country will demand the same backdoor. They're not doing this because Apple are nice guys. They're screwed if they become the US government's puppets. At a minimum, all foreign governments with above room temperature IQ's will forbid their employees from using Apple devices. That'd give Google a substantial market advantage. Plus the crippling PR aspects. Plus, the FBI is demanding essentially that Apple foot the bill for cutting their own throats.
Oh, and the unimaginable liability. If an FBI agent or high school dropout TSA agent inevitably uses an Apple developed backdoor to say, steal nude photos of celebrities... the US government has sovereign immunity. Apple has tens of billions in cash assets. Who do you think any ambulance chaser is going to sue? If I was Apple's head of legal, I'd be telling Cook to sound like the most ardent Constitution supporter since Jefferson and scream to the high heavens. Apple faces losses somewhere between tens of millions and unknown tens of billions if they lose this court order. Sure, America loses too, but Apple is looking into an abyss of liability and lawsuits. Probably not enough to break them, but enough to significantly damage them.
