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A24 TECHNOLOGY
Monday 20 January 2020
AP Explains: The Justice Department's new quarrel with Apple

By MARCY GORDON essentially create their own
AP Business Writer backdoors.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Such companies do signifi-
deadly shooting of three cant business with govern-
U.S. sailors at a Navy instal- ments and law enforce-
lation in December could ment. Companies like Ap-
reignite a long-simmering ple, meanwhile, do their
fight between the feder- best to close such loop-
al government and tech holes as soon as they learn
companies over data pri- about them.
vacy and encryption. WHERE THINGS STAND NOW
As part of its probe into the Apple is reportedly bracing
violent incident, deemed for another possible legal
a terrorist act by the gov- fight over encryption with
ernment, the Justice De- the Justice Department. So
partment insists that inves- far, though, there's no clear
tigators need access to sign that the government is
data from two locked and headed that way .
encrypted iPhones that "They're just public sham-
belonged to the alleged ing and asking nicely," said
gunman, a Saudi aviation Bruce Schneier, an encryp-
student. The problem: Ap- In this Jan. 13, 2020, file photo Attorney General William Barr and FBI Deputy Director David Bow- tion expert at the Berkman
dich, second from left, address reporters at the Justice Department in Washington to announce
ple designed those iPhones results of an investigation of the shootings at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida. Klein Center for Internet
with encryption technology Associated Press and Society at Harvard
so secure that the compa- University. "Hurting every-
ny itself can't read private companies to help us find however, wants access to Forcing tech companies to body's security for some fo-
messages. a solution so that we can that information in order to engineer backdoors into rensic evidence is a dumb
The squabble raises two big better protect the lives of investigate crimes such as their security systems would tradeoff."
questions. First, is Apple re- the American people and terrorism or child sexual ex- almost certainly require an Barr said the growth of
quired to help the govern- prevent future attacks." ploitation. act of Congress. Legisla- consumer apps with end-
ment hack its own security Apple rejected that char- Barr and other top cops tors, however, have never to-end encryption, from
technology when request- acterization. "Our respons- call the problem "going come close to agreeing Apple's iMessage to Face-
ed? Second, is govern- es to their many requests dark," as data they used on what such a law should book's WhatsApp and Sig-
ment pressure on this issue since the attack have to be able to scoop up look like. nal, have aided "terrorist
the prelude for a broader been timely, thorough and with wiretaps has become But there are alternatives. organizations, drug cartels,
effort to outlaw encryption are ongoing," the compa- harder and harder to read. Four years ago, the Justice child molesting rings and
technology the feds can't ny said. Although most law en- Department took the ex- kiddie porn-type rings." But
break? TRYING THE BACKDOOR forcement officials are traordinary step of asking the government's legal op-
THE QUARREL SO FAR Our phones hold countless vague about how to solve a federal judge to force tions could be limited.
The Justice Department messages, files and photos the problem, security ex- Apple to break its own en- For one thing, DOJ's own
and Apple have been in — tracings of our everyday perts say the authorities are cryption system. The legal inspector general slammed
talks recently over the Sau- life and work. But in 2013, basically asking for an en- move involved an iPhone the department in the af-
di student's iPhone. Justice the whistleblower Edward gineered "backdoor" — a used by the perpetrator termath of the San Ber-
officials contend that they Snowden revealed the ex- secret key that would let of a December 2015 mass nardino case, noting that
still haven't received an an- tent to which the govern- them decipher encrypted shooting in San Bernardino, it had made few attempts
swer about whether Apple ment was spying on U.S. cit- information with a court California. to break into the iPhone it-
has the capability to un- izens. Tech companies like order.But the same experts Apple acknowledged that self before filing suit. The FBI
lock the devices. Apple and Google began warn that such backdoors it could create the soft- unit tasked with cracking
During a news conference taking steps to shield those into encryption systems ware the feds wanted, but phones had only sought
Monday announcing the digital tracings from prying make them inherently inse- warned that it would be outside help the day be-
findings of the Pensacola eyes — though often not cure. Just knowing that a a bad idea. The software fore the department asked
station investigation, U.S. their own — by mathemati- backdoor exists is enough could be stolen by hack- a judge to compel Apple's
Attorney William Barr said cally scrambling them with to focus the world's spies ers and used against oth- assistance, the inspector
it's critical for law enforce- encryption. and criminals on discover- er iPhones, the company general's report found.
ment to know with whom Apple was one of the first ing the mathematical keys warned, and might also The same report found that
the shooter communicat- major companies to em- that could unlock it. And lead to similar demands an FBI section chief knew
ed and about what, before brace stronger "end-to- when they do, everyone's from repressive govern- an outside vendor had al-
he died. end" encryption, in which information is essentially ments around the world. most 90% completed a
"So far, Apple has not given messages are scrambled vulnerable to anyone with The FBI ultimately dropped technique that would have
any substantive assistance," so that only their senders the secret key. the case shortly before it allowed it to break into the
Barr said. "We call on Ap- and recipients can read WHAT LAW ENFORCEMENT was to go to trial, saying a phone, even as the Justice
ple and other technology them. Law enforcement, CAN DO "third party" had found an- Department insisted that
other way of getting into forcing Apple's help was
the phone. It never dis- the only option.
closed who that party was; Civil liberties advocates
there is an entire industry have also protested. The
of shadowy companies American Civil Liberties
such as the Israeli firm Cel- Union called Barr's de-
lebrite that discover or pay mands "dangerous and
for information on flaws in unconstitutional." "Here we
encryption systems. These are again," Schneier said.
firms then develop tools to "It's stupid every time."q