Google’s CEO just sided with Apple in the encryption debate

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has chimed in on the escalating battle between the FBI and Apple over iPhone encryption. Describing the letter published by Apple's Tim Cook as "important," Pichai says that a judge's order forcing Apple to assist the FBI in gaining access to the data on a terrorist's iPhone "could be a troubling precedent." Seeing as Google oversees the Android operating system, Pichai is a crucial voice in this debate; Android also offers encryption to safeguard personal data.

"We build secure products to keep your information safe and we give law enforcement access to data based on valid legal orders," Pichai tweeted moments ago. "But that's wholly different than requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices and data." Pichai seems to side squarely with Cook. "Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy." Google's CEO said he's "looking forward to a thoughtful and open discussion on this important issue."

That echoes the words of Cook, who in his letter wrote "This moment calls for public discussion, and we want our customers and people around the country to understand what is at stake." At this point it seems like not a matter of if, but when other influential tech CEOs like Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft's Satya Nadella will weigh in on the matter.

Read more @ http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/17/11040266/google-ceo-sundar-pichai-sides-with-apple-encryption?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link

San Bernardino Officials: Apple ID Password For Terrorist’s iPhone Reset At FBI Request

Company executives said they had been helping federal officials with the investigation when the password change was discovered. [Update: San Bernardino County officials on Saturday tweeted new information about what they say happened to Syed Farook’s phone.]

The Apple ID password linked to the iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino terrorists was changed less than 24 hours after the government took possession of the device, senior Apple executives said Friday. If that hadn’t happened, Apple said, a backup of the information the government was seeking may have been accessible.

Now, the government, through a court order, is demanding Apple build what the company considers a special backdoor way into the phone — an order that Apple is challenging. The government argues Apple would not be creating a backdoor.

The Apple executives said the company had been in regular discussions with the government since early January, and that it proposed four different ways to recover the information the government is interested in without building a backdoor. One of those methods would have involved connecting the iPhone to a known Wi-Fi network and triggering an iCloud backup that might provide the FBI with information stored to the device between the October 19th and the date of the incident.

Read more @ http://www.buzzfeed.com/johnpaczkowski/apple-terrorists-appleid-passcode-changed-in-government-cust#.qdrMgaxLj


"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~