Apple & Google have LE losing their fecal matter

[Battle Monkey of Zardoz]

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/09/25/fbi-director-slams-apple-google-over-encryption-technology/


About damn time. If it aggravates LE this much, it should have been the default setting to begin with.

[Hawkmoon]

Are most of you aware that Apple has announced a new operating system for iPhones and iPads that will have security encryption that Apple itself can't break -- thus getting Apple off the hot seat between users and search warrants. Naturally, the aw-thaw-ri-tays are livid:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/2014/09/25/68c4e08e-4344-11e4-9a15-137aa0153527_story.html

Comey added that FBI officials already have made initial contact with the two companies, which announced their new smartphone encryption initiatives last week. He said he could not understand why companies would “market something expressly to allow people to place themselves beyond the law.”

If Mr. Comey can't understand why American are upset about the government's wholesale spying on innocent people, he isn't intelligent enough to hold the office he's in and should resign immediately. Clearly, the companies are responding to what their customers want -- privacy! IMHO, the .gov brought this on themselves. If they hadn't been out there Hoovering up everyone's everything without warrants, maybe people would have become so concerned and this would not have been such a brilliant marketing move.

And it IS brilliant. Every smart phone user who is currently worried about their privacy will dump whatever they are using today and jump to this new level of privacy as soon as it's available to buy. Talk about "planned obsolescence." I don't like Apply (nor do I like Google), but I have to concede that this is brilliant. The best part is that it's legal. The .gov can't force them to turn over information they don't have access to End of discussion.

[charby]

merged, same topic

[Perd Hapley]

I can't see them keeping this up for very long. They'll fold.

Or could there be secret back-doors built in, and this is all a ruse?

[brimic]

Next, Apple needs to develop an app that anonymously and untraceably sends an brief electrical shock to a random authoritarian in power. 

[RevDisk]

I can't see them keeping this up for very long. They'll fold.

Or could there be secret back-doors built in, and this is all a ruse?

Yesterday's 'secret back-doors' are today's malware and forensic tools.

The news is not well stated. LE can still access your stuff. What's new is Apple removing itself from the loop. Previous keys for encryption were set to hardware identifiers, which is insanely bad idea in a cryptographic sense. Now it's tied to PIN or passcode.

That's the good news. Here's the bad news.

Apple wants you to be able to access media crap while your phone is locked. If LE has physical access, they can collect camera info, iTunes info and 3rd party app data. Even if the phone is locked. This only works with a computer that has a trusted pairing with the iOS 8 device.

So, even the bad news isn't catastrophically bad. If you are about to interact with the police or government entity, turn your iOS 8 device off. The pairing trick won't work if the iOS8 device hasn't been logged into since start up. Also, encrypt your laptop. You can wipe all pairing data by going to Network Settings in General -> Reset.

Use this set of intructions to force lock your iOS 7/8 devices, using Apple Configurator. It will significantly hose folks attempting to hoover your phone.
http://www.zdziarski.com/blog/?p=2589

[Battle Monkey of Zardoz]

My issue isn't as much as what can be uncovered. It's the balls out audacity that LE has in throwing a fit that they should have access to every *expletive deleted*ing thing. F them.

[MillCreek]

I thought I read just recently that the upcoming Android 5.0 will have this same feature.

[Perd Hapley]

My issue isn't as much as what can be uncovered. It's the balls out audacity that LE has in throwing a fit that they should have access to every *expletive deleted*ing thing. F them.

Like laws against the citizenry wearing body armor. "How dare you try to protect yourself? Especially from us! Now turn, and kneel down, for your protection."

[Battle Monkey of Zardoz]

Like laws against the citizenry wearing body armor. "How dare you try to protect yourself? Especially from us! Now turn, and kneel down, for your protection."

Yep. And of course shinning examples as this:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/09/26/one-of-the-most-powerful-political-figures-in-new-mexico-convicted-over-heated-traffic-stop/

[Northwoods]

Yep. And of course shinning examples as this:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/09/26/one-of-the-most-powerful-political-figures-in-new-mexico-convicted-over-heated-traffic-stop/

What a peach.

[bedlamite]

I thought I read just recently that the upcoming Android 5.0 will have this same feature.

It's already available in 4.x, you just have to turn on encryption in the System/Security menu.

[Sergeant Bob]

It's already available in 4.x, you just have to turn on encryption in the System/Security menu.

Thanks for the tip!

[MechAg94]

The only telephone physically seized in the North Carolina case belonged to a woman accused in the plot, after the hostage was already rescued. Authorities had tried to seize the cell phone from one of the alleged plotters, Kevin Melton, but he smashed it to pieces inside his prison cell on April 9, roughly four hours before the FBI rescued the victim in an Atlanta apartment.

How could they not seize his cell phone if he was already in jail?  That doesn't sound like it should have been an issue. 

[Balog]

Yep. And of course shinning examples as this:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/09/26/one-of-the-most-powerful-political-figures-in-new-mexico-convicted-over-heated-traffic-stop/

Oh New Mexico cops, anally raping people for looking nervous and shooting homeless folks in the back. The whole state just felt evil and oppressive when I visited.