Apple won a first battle against the FBI over iPhone encryption this week, as the law enforcement agency decided to back off in the San Bernardino case. The war is far from being over, as Apple will almost certainly have to face off against the FBI in the future. And that’s just one of Apple’s problems. Let’s not forget that a third party did for the FBI what Apple wouldn’t. That means there’s a way to bypass iPhone encryption that sidesteps Apple, and the Cupertino crew has no idea what it is.
Meanwhile, Apple issued a response to the FBI that follows below, in full.
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From the beginning, we objected to the FBI’s demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the government’s dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought.
We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated.
Apple believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy. Sacrificing one for the other only puts people and countries at greater risk.
This case raised issues, which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. Apple remains committed to participating in that discussion.
As you can see, Apple is well aware of the problems that lie ahead, both when it comes to strengthening security and addressing security matters similar to the one that emerged in the San Bernardino case.
