Will Apple's Reluctance to work for the Federal Government give Criminals Incentive to Purchase IPHONES to Protect their Criminal Activity?

SPC Andrew Griffin — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 20:43:24 -0500

The FBI has been trying to get Apple to access the Passcode of the IPHONE of one of the San Bernardino Terrorist. They have refused because it could violate the Protection they guarantee their customers and Ruin their Brand. Is that a strong enough Narrative to not Help the Federal Government?

Response by SSG Trevor S. made Feb 29 at 2016 8:49 PM

SSG Trevor S. — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 20:49:19 -0500

Will Apple's stance open a dialogue about government limitations?

Response by MAJ Bryan Zeski made Feb 29 at 2016 8:52 PM

MAJ Bryan Zeski — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 20:52:28 -0500

What I find interesting is that the Army is currently in the process of switching from BB to iPhone products for senior leadership.

As for this one case, it should be a moot point. There is already a company that has said it will open the iPhone for the FBI. For free. The fact that the FBI hasn't even looked at that option tells me this isn't about this phone, it's about the FBI wanting precedent in regards to control over a company.
http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-ill-decrypt-san-bernardino-phone-for-free-2016-2

JOHN MCAFEE: I'll decrypt the San Bernardino phone free of charge so Apple doesn't need to place...

Cybersecurity expert John McAfee weighs in on the FBI's wanting Apple to decrypt the San Bernardino phone.

Response by SFC Justin Scott made Feb 29 at 2016 8:52 PM

SFC Justin Scott — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 20:52:52 -0500

We should never let fear cause us to give up rights!

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Feb 29 at 2016 10:12 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 22:12:06 -0500

I would say it will give everyone an incentive to buy iphones, which is why Apple is doing it. There aren't enough criminals to grow Apple's revenues appreciably, but there are still (lots) of ordinary people they can convert from androids that cant stand up to the government in the same way.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 12:57 AM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 00:57:22 -0500

No. Criminals will adapt to whatever the situation demands to carry on their criminal lifestyles.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 2:56 AM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 02:56:27 -0500

The fact that the FBI needs help from Apple at all shows how weak the last 8 years of leadership has made them. They shouldn't need help. They shouldn't even need the phone.

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 5:07 AM

Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 05:07:50 -0500

I think this is a miss representation of the issue. If Apple complies with this 1 demand, it's sets a precedent for the thousands of other requests that are in the queue from the DOJ down to the police agencies at the local level. In addition this precedent allows other countries like China, Russia, Iran, etc to start demanding Apple to provide a tool to be used against its people.
Apple is not a forensics company. Any forensic tool they are force to create (at their expense) must be open for inspection and verification. That process inturn opens Pandora's box and allows other organizations to replicate the backdoor.
The irony is that the NSA (which is part of the federal govenement as well) has stated that encryption is a vital part of national security.
Finally, if the FBI didn't change the darn iCloud password the backup function would have allowed Apple to pull the contents from the cloud which is not encrypted.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 5:22 AM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 05:22:08 -0500

CEASE, STOP discussing it and a remedy will appear, known only to ONE ( 1 ) technician. If the solution is NOT CURRENTLY known but can be deciphered by more than one, number them, request the solution, and get on with business. If it's "trial & error", send all suspected solutions to the FBI and let them choose. If unsuccessful, you can't say you didn't try. If successful, the FBI, not APPLE will be on the hook, for maintaining the secrecy. One caveat, " If the cat ever gets out of the bag, APPLE can sue the Feds for all the money in the world. ( joke )

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 9:42 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 09:42:09 -0500

I think that it will give incentive to all Americans to purchase devices that are not easily deciphered.
If the US Government and Law enforcement were thinking correctly, they would be devoting resources to solving the encryption algorithm. There are national security reasons to look at this gap of capability that are more concerning than criminal exploitation. Other nations will be far less scrupulous in solving this for their own gain.

Response by Capt Tom Brown made Mar 1 at 2016 10:17 AM

Capt Tom Brown — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 10:17:40 -0500

Not so much worried about criminals as World Terrorism which has figured out how to use our own freedoms as weapons against us. What a horrible dilemma to be in. At this point in time the public sides with the pure of heart in preserving our freedoms above all else. Things have not gotten bad enough yet where terrorists plan and execute attacks on American soil almost on a daily basis and the authorities can't catch them because they operate in secret and privacy behind our own devices and own freedoms. San Bernardino was only a preview. DT has been the first politician-type to raise the specter of the necessity for draconian measures to fight World Terrorism which is a worse threat to the US safety and security than the Nazis and nips ever were. When the public demands it, the weak sisters will be outvoted and authorities given the tools they need to defend US. Unfortunately no freedoms under Terrorism.

Response by SSG Daniel Murphy made Mar 1 at 2016 10:33 AM

SSG Daniel Murphy — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 10:33:29 -0500

I guess Apple would prefer to protect murderers than support the USA.i DON'T AND WON'T OWN ONE OF THEIR PRODUCTS.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 11:21 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 11:21:29 -0500

For a second, never mind what the implications are for cracking an Iphone. Is the government saying that it relies on cell phone data so heavily that it can't convict a terrorist without it? How exactly did they used to convict terrorists before there were cell phones?

Response by SFC William Adamek made Mar 1 at 2016 11:40 AM

SFC William Adamek — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 11:40:33 -0500

Lets think about this for a moment. If this ends up being required and a precedent is set, then when we have a question about the legality of the actions of any of our own leaders, their IPhones can be opened up as part of the investigation. I'm sure that the individuals in our political parties have had this conversation and are both concerned and foaming at the mouth.

Response by SMSgt Thor Merich made Mar 1 at 2016 12:11 PM

SMSgt Thor Merich — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 12:11:21 -0500

Criminals already purchase them because of the built in security measures.

Law enforcement has many techniques to access cell phones. All of them require a search warrant (or consent). For security reasons, I will not go into specifics. Apple makes it difficult for LE to break into their phones due to the security measures, which I as customer actually appreciate.

This whole situation is more directed at Apple's overseas market (mainly China) than the US. If Apple upsets its US customers, its a risk they are willing to take. There is too much money from China for them to ignore them.

Response by SFC Joseph McCausland made Mar 5 at 2016 9:16 AM

SFC Joseph McCausland — Sat, 05 Mar 2016 09:16:24 -0500

They already are, the Justice Department has stated that the large majority of cell phones confiscated from drug dealers, sex traders and human traffickers are by far Apple products.