The British government has ordered the granting of secret access to the coded cloud storage data for its customers using controversial monitoring powers known as “Snoopes”, in a move that could weaken IPHONE users all over the world.
Last month, the United States Group for Technology received a “technical notice” under the UK's investigative power law, which requires the iPhone maker to create a “rear door” for the encrypted iCloud storage service, according to people familiar with the matter.
This step will enable law enforcement and safety services to click on iPhone backups and other cloud data that cannot be accessed otherwise. apple itself. Law enjoys external powers, which means that the application of law in the UK can access the encrypted data of Apple customers anywhere in the world, including in the United States.
The UK's demand is the latest flash point in a long -term battle between the technology industry and law enforcement on the use of encryption in correspondence applications and storage services.
Billions of people around the world depend on encryption in the applications provided by technology companies including Apple, Google, Meta and Signal to secure their personal data. However, security and law enforcement officials argue that it raises criminals, terrorists and children, making it difficult to collect digital evidence of judicial prosecutions and security intelligence of national security.
“We are not commenting on operational issues, including, for example, to confirm or deny the existence of any such notifications,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior. Apple refused to comment.
Washington Post first I mentioned UK command to Apple.
“The use of technical ability to weaken encryption around the world,” Merridhete Whitaker, head of the Al -Inshara Foundation, said.
UK investigation authorities, named after “Sniprs Charter” By critics when it was approved in 2016, it was updated last year in the last weeks of the conservative government before the July elections.
Under the legislation, which was widely criticized by human rights activists and privacy activists, as well as technology companies in Silicon Valley, beneficiaries of technical ability notifications are not allowed to recognize their existence or warn users that their security has been weakened, unless it is safe to give the state permission to do so.
Apple has already said that the rules will compel them Withdraw Insurance services for UK customers because they “will not build a rear door in their products”, indicating that he may choose to stop the advanced cloud protection instead of coding.
Security officials have long struggled with tension between the privacy of users and the accidental need for reinforced monitoring.
“When a lot of planning occurs on the Internet, our ability to track online activity for those who mean harm is very important,” said Ken McClicom, head of the UK's local intelligence agency.Na's speech Last October.
“Maintaining proportional access, legal to such contacts in the face of prevailing encryption ever is sometimes our only way to discover and understand these threats. Privacy and exceptional legal access can be coexis if absolute position this “.
In 2016, Apple fought a high -level battle against the US FBI, who wanted to help Apple storm the iPhone, which was used by an armed man in the San Bernardino terrorist attack.
In early 2024, when the latest amendments to the Investigation Forces Law were moving across Parliament, Apple said it was “strongly interested” that the changes endanger the privacy of users.
Apple said at the time: “It is unprecedented by the government, and if it is enact, the UK can try to veto the protection of a new user secretly worldwide, and we are prevented from presenting it to customers.”
Last month, the president of Europol Companies criticized the resistance to cooperation with the police over access to encrypted messages, saying they had a “social responsibility” to open criminals' data.
Apple has launched the advanced data protection of iCloud in early 2023 as an optional service that users should choose to run. On the contrary, the iMessage service is encrypted from Apple, such as its WhatsApp and Signal, from the end to the end.
People in the technology industry are concerned that by targeting the relatively unknown Apple service, the UK can then use it to force companies to create reverse doors in the most popular applications.
The Information and Innovation Corporation is called an intellectual organization that does not aim for Washington as a headquarters, which is many large technology companies including Apple and Meta between the financiers, the dangerous and unjustified excessive “UK move” that threatens the security and privacy of individuals and companies throughout the world “.
“Corporate demand intentionally undermines their security features crossing a critical red line,” said Daniel Castro, Vice President of ITIF.
“Since the UK arrangement applies at the global level, its harmful effects will extend beyond its borders, undermining the security of users all over the world. Allow one nation to a previous situation should not be sick with global digital security undisputed.”
