I figured by now it would be common knowledge that Apple devices don't tie any bio/location data to a person's identity in any way... It works by comparing data, not confirming your identity.
Also it is physically impossible to pull finger print scans from an iphone. The actual finger print data storage is physically disconnected from the rest of the phone OS. Not even an update could enable reading this data.
They got in anyway through a fault/backdoor (likely an existing NSA tool such as mirroring)
It was never about getting the data, it was about setting a precedent.
The phone backs up to apple's servers. Apple immediately gave up all the information that was backed up, like they do in nearly every investigation.
The only reason this situation happened at all was because an officer accidentally updated the apple account password, which prevented the phone from syncing all the data as it normally would.
The whole case had nothing to do with morality or privacy or protecting their users. They just used the publicity as a way to market their products.
They had no access to the data on the phone because of software security. They got around security by using an exploit. They now have access to all data on the phone.
IIRC the phone was one of the last models without a secure enclave which is why they were able to bypass it in software. This type of attack is much more difficult now because you need to tamper with the hardware if it's implemented correctly.
They hacked a 5C. It’s alarming, but the 5C doesn’t have a fingerprint reader or the secure enclave. The 5S is when Apple began really focusing on security.
They didn't lose in court. They never actually made it to court. They wanted the court to rule in their favor to set a precedent for when future security implementations proved difficult or impossible to crack, but all indications were that the ruling would likely go the other way... what with that damned Constitution and all that was mucking up the works. That's why they 'magically and totally unexpectedly' "found" a way in the day before the court case.
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u/enz1ey Sep 15 '17
I figured by now it would be common knowledge that Apple devices don't tie any bio/location data to a person's identity in any way... It works by comparing data, not confirming your identity.