iOS 8 'swung too far' toward privacy, says FBI director
FBI director James Comey delivered stern remarks聽last聽Thursday聽regarding Apple鈥檚 recent release of iOS 8, an operating system with improved security including encryption.聽Apple boasts that its new security features will make it harder for government agencies to access information on people鈥檚 phones. But Mr.聽Comey聽worries that this new countermeasure 鈥渋s an indication to us as a country and as a people鈥� that the pendulum has "swung too far" toward privacy.聽
With the release of Apple鈥檚 iOS 8 comes enhanced encryption. If your phone is encrypted, its contents are unreadable unless you have the passcode for that phone.聽(For additional information, see Monitor coverage of Apple's recent attempts to assuage consumer concerns about device聽security and privacy.)
With iOS 8, Apple no longer has back-door access to unlocking users鈥� phones. Thus, law enforcement officials won鈥檛 be able to compel Apple to hand over the keys and see the contents of a cellphone.
Comey notes the danger of this change. An inability to access the contents of an encrypted device might lead to law enforcement officials not being able to save a person in danger.
Some fellow law enforcement officials agree. In response to the privacy debate following Apple鈥檚 release of iOS 8, detectives in Chicago and Los Angeles have cited occasions where warranted access to the contents of a cellphone聽has helped solve cases, the Washington Post .
Others celebrate Apple鈥檚 enhanced encryption standards, not as a snub to law enforcement officials but as a much-needed security improvement.聽
Jonathan Zdziarski,聽an iOS security expert and consultant to law enforcement, 聽on his blog that Apple 鈥渉as finally brought their operating system up to what most experts would consider 鈥榓cceptable security鈥� 鈥澛爓ith its release of iOS 8.聽In previous operating systems, Apple鈥檚 back-door access also gave hackers and criminals simpler ways of accessing information on a phone.聽This meant government agencies often developed physical hardware modifications for devices used by the military and public officials in order to make them more secure than regular versions.聽
Apple鈥檚 iOS 8 isn鈥檛 the only operating system with encryption. A few days after Apple's announcement, Google revealed that its next generation of Android would include automatic encryption rather than a feature users had to opt in to.聽And Windows Phone 8.1, the newest operating system from Microsoft, has security features designed to make the phones more appealing to government agencies looking for better security in their mobile devices.
