Data privacy in the age of the Apple vs FBI debate

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With most of the technology world glued to the outcome of the tussle between Apple and FBI, “data privacy” again takes center stage in the age of social media. For almost a month now, the Apple vs FBI debate has kept us all guessing and taking sides on what is right and what is wrong.

Our mobile world:

              Smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices continue to grow in popularity and we store abundant amount of personal information in it. Chats, pictures, personal data, health data are all examples of some personal information stored on mobile devices. Seizing any mobile device gives you new insights into an individual’s digital and personal habits.

What really happened?

             On December 2, 2015, a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California left 14 people dead while injuring 22 others. The attackers were also eventually killed. The iPhone of one of the attackers has been acquired by the FBI who would like to unlock it to gain access to the data. However, due to Apple’s advanced security features (beginning with iOS 8), it is not easy to:

  1. unlock the -iPhone as a “passcode” is needed and
  2. the entire data is “encrypted”

Apple encryption:

           Since, hacking a person’s mobile device is equivalent to gaining a passport to the person’s identity itself, Apple beefed up its security features soon after the Snowden revelations. The iOS operating system is now known for enhanced system security, app security, network security features among other security features.  It also has additional encryption and data protection standards, privacy controls and device controls.

            “Data protection” standards of the iOS running devices, is making sure that encryption of all user data is enabled on all iOS devices. This means that all chats, pictures, contacts, mail, calendar and messages are encrypted on all iOS devices.

What is meant encryption and decryption?

  “Encryption” means converting the data into unreadable format commonly known as “ciphertext”. This is done by using a “key”.  “Decryption” is re-converting the “ciphertext” or “unreadable data” into “readable” form by using the “key”.

encrypt

“Symmetric encryption” is when the same key that is used to encrypt is used to decrypt as well.

              The encryption used in iOS devices is AES 256 encryption algorithm which is adopted by US and Canadian governments for effectively encrypting “data at rest” and “data in transit”.  It is important to note that all the personal and professional data can be decrypted once the user unlocks a device.

       Thus, Apple’s encryption should not be taken lightly. “The algorithm is so strong that no computer imaginable for the foreseeable future—even a quantum computer—would be able to crack a truly random 256-bit AES key. The National Security Agency has approved AES-256 for storing top-secret data” (MacRumors)

         Since the attacker’s seized iPhone cannot be decrypted (as the “keys” are not known), the only other way to the seized iPhone is to use “bruteforce” to crack the “passcode”. “Brute forcing” a six character alphanumeric passcode could take as long as 5 1/2 years!

            Now coming to the present day, the US federal government thus needs to build a “backdoor” to break into the attacker’s iPhone which Apple firmly opposes. Creating a “backdoor” essentially means that a new version of the operating system has to be created bypassing all security features and installed on the seized iPhone. This would enable the FBI to “unlock” the iPhone and attack its own encryption (!) to recover data present on the phone to gain clues to the terrorist attack.

apple

In the ensuing debate on “data privacy”,   Apple contends that creating a “backdoor” to the iPhone would set a dangerous precedent and other criminals would also hack their way into other Apple devices. Apple has been stating its stand to the US federal government on these points. Silicon Valley has come in support of Apple with companies such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft standing by it.

                         The next hearing on the Apple vs FBI debate is slated to be March 22nd, in Riverside, California.  Stay tuned!

 

Bibliography

MacRumors. (n.d.). Retrieved from MacRumors: http://www.macrumors.com/2012/08/13/apples-unbreakable-ios-device-encryption-highlighted/

 

*All images from Google

About Pavan Gumaste

Pavan Rao is a programmer / Developer by Profession and Cloud Computing Professional by choice with in-depth knowledge in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform. He helps the organisation figure out what to build, ensure successful delivery, and incorporate user learning to improve the strategy and product further.

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