New from Apple: “Advanced Data Protection”

[Cmaier]

Time will tell if Apple has actually done what the said they've done. They still could have a copy of the decryption key on their "lawful access" servers and only provide the access to the US intelligence agencies. (that, at least, would keep our "trusted" allies from leaking the information *cough* France *cough*).

Me, I really don't care if law enforcement can gain access to my devices - nothing to hide - and I'm not a conspiracy nut.

(and I also invested just over 8 years of my life at BlackBerry - where we did exactly that for law enforcement).

If apple says they don’t have the key, then they don’t have the key.

 

[rdrr]

Time will tell if Apple has actually done what the said they've done. They still could have a copy of the decryption key on their "lawful access" servers and only provide the access to the US intelligence agencies. (that, at least, would keep our "trusted" allies from leaking the information *cough* France *cough*).

Me, I really don't care if law enforcement can gain access to my devices - nothing to hide - and I'm not a conspiracy nut.

(and I also invested just over 8 years of my life at BlackBerry - where we did exactly that for law enforcement).

You, I, and probably 99.98% don't have anything to hide. However, imagine a totalitarian political figurehead getting into power (say he has an orange hue) and orders the FBI to unlock his political opponents and enemy's data. Then he could pick and choose what information to use against them.

 

[fischersd]

You, I, and probably 99.98% don't have anything to hide. However, imagine a totalitarian political figurehead getting into power (say he has an orange hue) and orders the FBI to unlock his political opponents and enemy's data. Then he could pick and choose what information to use against them.

And this has been the world that we've lived in since the Patriot Act. (no imagination required) - there needs to be checks and balances in place to keep individuals from compromising democracy (we've seen how well they haven't worked when Trump was in office).

 

[Buntschwalbe]

Me, I really don't care if law enforcement can gain access to my devices - nothing to hide - and I'm not a conspiracy nut.

Nothing to hide means also nothing to say…

 

[dada_dave]

Time will tell if Apple has actually done what the said they've done. They still could have a copy of the decryption key on their "lawful access" servers and only provide the access to the US intelligence agencies. (that, at least, would keep our "trusted" allies from leaking the information *cough* France *cough*).

Me, I really don't care if law enforcement can gain access to my devices - nothing to hide - and I'm not a conspiracy nut.

(and I also invested just over 8 years of my life at BlackBerry - where we did exactly that for law enforcement).

The rest of the world wouldn’t let that slide. You really think other governments around the world would allow Apple to operate under the conditions that the US government can access private information on American citizens but they can’t do so for their own? Or even worse the implication in your post is that the US government can access the private information on any country’s citizens but other governments can’t. That really isn’t going to slide.

So once you open that box then you’re at risk of enabling police states and not just hypothetical ones in the US, but ones that exist today. Also given the hundreds of millions of iPhone users, you’ve just made those back door keys and lawful access servers one of the most valuable resources in the world, not just to governments but malicious criminal actors. Samsung just suffered such a malicious hack/leak of certification keys. Back door decryption keys would be even more valuable.

 

[lizkat]

Nothing to hide means also nothing to say…

Well it can certainly come down to that in any society where a totalitarian has made it clear that "nothing to say" is the only sure way to get from today to another breakfast.

My humble opinion: back doors are just invitations to use them. Hackers find the equivalent when they're not even intended to exist anyway. The strengths of computing power will keep increasing and will fit into ever smaller boxes if past trends continue.

The "good guys" need to find ways to corral "bad guys" outside of the rat-race traditions of building better locks to foil improved locksmithing capabilities.

That implies better surveillance... one wants to be able to see the bad guys coming up the driveway.

Sigh: yeah, another rat race, and not one that ordinary citizens can probably stay ahead of whether they are themselves good or bad guys. It takes plenty moolah (or nerve and thievery) to keep upgrading surveillance capabilities, especially of the type meant to "observe without being observed observing."

Rodney King, 30 years ago: "... can we all [just] get along?"
World at large: [crickets]

Or you know we could all just go back to the era of samizdat, sneaker-netting handwritten copies of what we really think, risking mortal danger in choosing the next recipient of that information. It does get pretty tribal in the end, since "trust" is still the biggest issue. That sort of reversion sure would cut down on the trash that now routinely goes viral when everything under the sun is just a couple of copy-paste-send clicks away.

 

[Nycturne]

You, I, and probably 99.98% don't have anything to hide. However, imagine a totalitarian political figurehead getting into power (say he has an orange hue) and orders the FBI to unlock his political opponents and enemy's data. Then he could pick and choose what information to use against them.

Considering the sorts of things going on in the US right now when it comes to laws stripping people of bodily autonomy and right to self-determine, 99.98% seems really high.

Just consider why Tim Cook has made privacy a key aspect of his tenure as CEO, for example.

 

[Clix Pix]

Think I'll pass on this....especially in the early days of it! I don't have anything that private or important stored in iCloud or anywhere else online. I"m with Liz: I don't want to run the risk of suddenly losing access to some folder or file because I can't recall or find the passcode and encryption info.

 

[Colstan]

Keep in mind that iOS 16.3 and Ventura 13.2 are also adding support for physical keys.

Apple announces physical Security Key support for Apple ID two-factor, new iMessage verification technology

Alongside a dramatic expansion of end-to-end encryption for iCloud data, Apple has two other major security announcements today. The company says that it will add support for using Security Keys to further enhance your Apple ID and iCloud account security. There’s also a new feature for iMessage...

9to5mac.com

Some brave users have been testing this in the betas.

Apparently, it can be used for two-factor authentication, instead of verification codes, etc. I'll probably try this out, even if it's excessive, for what I do. Make sure to have a spare key, plus a backup!

I'm not paranoid, it's just that everyone is out to get me.

 

[Cmaier]

I’ve been using the advance data protection now for about a week. So far so good, but I did have to disconnect my 15” 2016 MBP from my icloud account, permanently, since it cannot be updated to Ventura and you need all your devices to be up-to-date to use this.

 

[rdrr]

...

I'm not paranoid, it's just that everyone is out to get me.

Especially clowns, they are evil.