The Apple-UK Battle is a terrifying echo of San Bernardino-Joba

I always knew that Apple would continue to fight governments for encryption, but I never expected this last Salvo.

The Washington Post reports that Apple has been ordered to open all encrypted data from end to the world under the Law on Investigative United Kingdom Act. Apple may appeal the decision on the basis of costs and importance of security requirements, but in the meantime there is no choice but to comply. As a result, the option of sophisticated Apple data protection can be removed in countries such as the US and Canada, not just in the United Kingdom.

None of this can sound like a big job for the casual observer. As a matter of fact, this is a reinforced version of the battle that Apple is fighting against the FBI a few years ago, now with severe consequences if the UK intelligence apparatus is breaking its way. I’m not sensational – there is a real risk of safety associated with the United Kingdom government, which has access to Apple devices data for its citizens.

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San Bernardino’s heritage

Struggle without a final conclusion

Creative Commons / Ajay_suresh

In December 2015, a marriage couple – SEED Rizun Farouk and Tashfain Malik – carried out a terrorist attack in the California district of San Bernardino, killing 14 people and seriously injured 22 more. The attackers managed to destroy their personal phones before they were shot, but Farook had work The iPhone 5C, in which the FBI was quickly interested.

The problem was that it was locked on a password and set to delete after 10 unsuccessful attempts automatically. This has unlocked brute force very risky, so the FBI management has made an unusual step by ordering Apple to come up with a software solution known as a background. Apple declined, arguing that it would compromise security not only to its own products, but also in general the US technology industry. If Apple could be ordered to create a reverse on the iPhone, there would be no reason for the same not to be required for other devices such as laptops, routers and servers.

San Bernardino became a very public battle and seemed to be a critical hearing in March 2016. However, the day before hearing, the government said it had found a third party that could potentially unlock the phone. This happened later that month, which allowed the FBI to reject its request and to avoid determining a legal precedent.

Later, The Los Angeles Times reported that nothing useful was found on the iPhone.

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The very real problems laid down

This is beyond constitutional rights

With San Bernardino, the main concern of the FBI critics was that the iPhone’s security undermined the government would enable the government, while increasing the vulnerability to criminals and foreign spy agencies. The US government may promise to retain the details of a rear secret, but Apple’s software will be more exposed, which only makes it a matter of time before hackers find and operate the same flaw. Apple can then release a patch, but there will only be so much that it can do without blocking the US government again.

There have always been hints of international consequences for the San Bernardino case, but they are inevitable with the new decision of the United Kingdom. The advantage of end -to -end encryption is that it is so certain that even the companies that offer it cannot be drilled. If they cannot, governments cannot, and in the case of iCloud backup with advanced data protection, may require many sensitive governments, including everything-from photos and messages to the content of some third-party applications. Standard encryption can still be relatively secure against criminals, but without end -to -end technology, there is still the potential of Apple to be forced to observe the search and monitoring orders against its servers.

Advanced data protection gives the political disagreement an additional layer of defense when the government is less than ethical or completely non -napological to crush its enemies. This is a matter of life and death – a backup of iCloud can be anything that is needed to be disagreed in prison. Even if the original person is not punished, their interactions with others can be used to eliminate signs of political resistance.

There are legitimate end -to -end encryption arguments as it can be used by terrorists, sexual traffickers and other criminals to hide their activities, but the threat to freedom and democracy compensates for this. We know that governments sometimes abuse their technical capabilities.

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Is there any hope in the battle with the United Kingdom?

Slim light at the end of the tunnel

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I cannot say that I know for sure and should not. Although I know a decent amount of policy and security, as a technology journalist, I’m still very outside. I am also not familiar with the laws of the United Kingdom, which can play a decisive factor in this situation.

This said that I know that many in the UK are dissatisfied with the Law on Investigators, which is sometimes called the Snoopers Charter. On top of that, the FBI and NSA transferred the script in December 2024, joining security organizations in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, recommending encryption from end to end for web traffic. Reflections? China is known to be engaged in electronic spying around the world. If the main security partners of the UK are aboard encryption from end to one area, this may be forced to re -evaluate its position.

Apple can also have a case on its own merit. It really seems disproportionate to make the company dismantle sophisticated data protection for every consumer worldwide, including people who are usually not subject to the UK rules. But governments are not always rational in how they react, which is part of the reason to need end -to -end encryption.

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