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Criminals refer to locked iPhones as a ‘gift from God’, NYPD official says

The lack of support from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to let the government officials access data in iPhones involved in criminal activities does nothing but help lawbreakers, according to the New York Police Department’s counter-terrorism chief.

Apple’s decision to remove the ability to bypass an iPhone’s passcode to access personal data is being criticized by numerous government and non-government officials who assure that this block just helps criminals to hide information.

“You are actually providing aid to the kidnappers, robbers and murderers who have actually been recorded on the telephones in Riker’s Island telling their compatriots on the outside, ‘You gotta get iOS 8. It is a gift from God’, and that is a quote, ‘because the cops cannot crack it,’” said John Miller on the New York Daily News reported on Sunday.

Apple’s decision to remove the ability to bypass an iPhone’s passcode to access personal data is being criticized by numerous government and non-government officials. Photo credit: CNET

The numerous critics to the multinational company came after the FBI demanded help from Apple to unlock an iPhone 5C used by one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino, California, massacre in December. The called for help ended up in court over the classic debate of privacy and national security.

Apple has refused help since then arguing that it would need to create an entirely new custom version of its iOS software and build a backdoor that will leave iPhone’s security at risk, as reported by CNET.

While the pioneer company, and others in its support, said that encryption protects private information and communications, law enforcement responded that the ability to access such data is vital to investigation and prevention of crime and terrorist.

At the moment, Cy Vance, the Manhattan district attorney, has 175 iPhones involved in crimes stucked in his office, which are subject to search warrants issued by judges, Miller said.

‘Turn back the clock’

Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering at Apple, said that their engineers should not have to turn back the clock on security, no matter the stakes. Letting the government access to the information would let the company vulnerable to security issues.

Building a backdoor into the iPhone would drag Apple back to security standards of three years ago, Federighi added on Sunday penned an op-ed in The Washington Post.

Apple’s team must work tirelessly to stay one step ahead of criminal attackers who seek to pry into personal information and even co-opt devices commit broader assaults that endanger us all, said Federighi. These threats only grow more serious and sophisticated over time, he added.

IPhone’s demand has brought the big technological companies, like Google and Microsoft, to agree and support Apple in its fight, while Republican presidential contender Donald Trump has called the company a ‘boycott’.

Source: The Washington Post

Categories: Technology
Daniel Contreras:
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