In its latest attempt to erode strong encryption protections, the UK government will build a backdoor that will allow UK security officials to access encrypted cloud storage data from Apple customers anywhere in the world It is reportedly been secretly ordered to do so.
The secret order issued under the UK’s Research Power Act of 2016 (known as Snoopers Charter) has an opt-in Apple feature that provides end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for iCloud backups, known as advanced data protection. It is intended to damage it. The encrypted backup feature allows Apple customers to access device information stored in iCloud. Even Apple doesn’t have access.
The UK government declined to comment on the report to TechCrunch, but British authorities have long made it more difficult for E2EE to collect digital evidence of criminal prosecution and collect information for national security He has insisted that.
When enabled, Apple’s encrypted backup feature closes the loopholes that law enforcement used to access data stored in the cloud. Otherwise, this data was not possible to unscramble on most modern iPhones with device encryption enabled.
The Washington Post, which first reported the story, is likely to stop Apple from offering iCloud encryption capabilities to UK users in response to a secret order, rather than breaking user encryption globally. He said.
Apple previously responded to plans to increase government oversight authority by warning that encrypted communication services FaceTime and Imessage could be at risk in the UK.
Global impact
If Apple strips UK customers of advanced iCloud encryption, the fallout will not stop at the country’s borders.
Rebecca Vincent, who leads the Privacy and Civil Liberties Campaign Group Big Brother Watch, said that while the UK government’s “Draconians” order will not make citizens safer, he instead “expresses fundamental rights and civil liberties across the population.” It will erode.”
It is not yet clear how UK orders actually work, but removing advanced data protection will make cloud data for UK citizens available to law enforcement, but the news of the order is The security of millions of Apple device owners around the world has sparked concerns. It may become weaker.
Security and privacy advocates also say the UK can set a dangerous global precedent for authoritarian regimes and cybercriminals to be eager to abuse.
Thorin Klosowski, a privacy activist at the US-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, warned in a blog post that UK demands have global implications for secrecy orders to make them “an emergency for all of us.” James Baker of Open Rights Group last week said the plan was “terrifying…and not everyone safe.”
Unlearned security lessons
The knock-on effect that the British government’s orders could have on citizens around the world has sparked criticism amid fears that the UK could face conflict with some of its closest allies.
The news comes just weeks after US security officials urged Americans to use encrypted messaging apps to avoid hostile countries intercepting communications. The recommendations have also been reported by telephone and internet giants following reports of years of stealth hacking campaigns by Chinese government spies aimed at hacking important US infrastructure.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association, a US high-tech industry group representing IT and Telecoms Industries, has announced that the hacks run by the so-called “Typhoon” group of Chinese-backed hackers are “end” “Two-end encryption” revealed He said there was. It may be the only safety measure that stands between American sensitive personal and business data and foreign enemies. ”
“In America, privacy and security decisions should be made in an open and transparent way, not through secret overseas orders that require keys to be kept at the front door,” the CCIA said. Ta.
Chris Mall, president of the US-based Software and Information Industry Association, has issued a similar warning, calling the UK’s order “both wise and dangerous.”
“We need a policy to make information safer (less) than ever, especially in the wake of salt typhoons,” Mohr said, referring to a Chinese support group targeting telephone companies. “We ask the Trump administration and the US Congress to stand firmly in this troublesome development.”
China’s hacking targeting telephone and internet giants, including AT&T and Verizon, is the latest example of why the UK government’s backdoor request for Apple is flawed.
Salt Typhoon has recently been involved in abusing the legally mandated backdoors required by telecom companies to enable law enforcement and intelligence agency access to customer data on request. It carried out a violation of the telephone company, which is said to be one of the biggest hacks among them.
“The lessons are repeated until it’s learned. There’s no backdoor just to put in just the good guys and protect the bad guys,” according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “It’s time for us all to recognize this and take steps to ensure true security and privacy for all of us.”
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