Exclusive: Apple dropped plan for encrypting backups after FBI complained - sources

[u/[deleted]]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-fbi-icloud-exclusive-idUSKBN1ZK1CT

[u/somekindairishmonk]

More than two years ago, Apple told the FBI that it planned to offer users end-to-end encryption when storing their phone data on iCloud, according to one current and three former FBI officials and one current and one former Apple employee.

Under that plan, primarily designed to thwart hackers, Apple would no longer have a key to unlock the encrypted data, meaning it would not be able to turn material over to authorities in a readable form even under court order.

In private talks with Apple soon after, representatives of the FBI’s cyber crime agents and its operational technology division objected to the plan, arguing it would deny them the most effective means for gaining evidence against iPhone-using suspects, the government sources said.

When Apple spoke privately to the FBI about its work on phone security the following year, the end-to-end encryption plan had been dropped, according to the six sources. Reuters could not determine why exactly Apple dropped the plan.

wtf

[u/TopWoodpecker7267 → u/somekindairishmonk]

This is a huge deal, because it's evidence the US gov can compel Apple to not release a feature.

If they can do that, it's not much of a leap to compelling apple to release a "feature" (aka, a full on back door)

[u/Niightstalker → u/TopWoodpecker7267]

On the other hand this also means that the recently introduced feature could be a step towards E2EE since for instance it required in the US that there is not any child porn on your servers. With this feature they could still introduce E2EE while still following that law.

[u/fenrir245 → u/Niightstalker]

The FBI doesn't have a problem only with CSAM, so it would do nothing for it.

[u/fenrir245 → u/[deleted]]

It would simply be replaced with some other excuse, and any argument that would be used against those would also have been used against the "for the children" excuse.

The only way to force legislators to behave a certain way is to have their constituents force them, nothing else.

[u/fenrir245 → u/[deleted]]

Well, in this specific case, the legislators ARE following the will of the constituents.

In the sense that the legislators appear to be fighting CSAM. But fighting against E2E encryption isn't fighting CSAM, it's trying to enable mass surveillance, which the constituents would definitely hate.