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You are here: MacNN Forums > News > Tech News > FBI Director Comey worried Apple, Google encryption 'above the law'

FBI Director Comey worried Apple, Google encryption 'above the law'
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NewsPoster
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Sep 25, 2014, 06:35 PM
 
Addressing reporters in Washington today, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey voiced his concerns over the recent shifts in security policy for Android and iOS 8. Specifically, Comey believes that the new security encryption measures that cannot be bypassed for law enforcement puts consumers before possible emergency situations.

"I am a huge believer in the rule of law, but I am also a believer that no one in this country is above the law," said Comey via the Huffington Post. "What concerns me about this is companies marketing something expressly to allow people to place themselves above the law." Critics have been quick to disagree with Comey's assessment.

Comey refers to the shifts in privacy policies from Apple and Google that puts larger amounts data out of easy reach of the government or other law enforcement agencies. On Apple's privacy website, the company outlines a number of personal data items that are secured by passcode and encryption, including messages, call history, email, contacts, photos messages and iTunes content in iOS 8. Apple can no longer provide a workaround for officials seeking access to a phone, though this does not leave law enforcement with alternative tools to accomplish the same goals. It does, however, eliminate the possibility of easy abuse.

"Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode, and therefore cannot access this data," said the company. "So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8."

Google later followed suit, telling the Washington Post that it would be changing the way security is approached in Android L. Both of the new operating systems will now encrypt data by default, though it isn't the first time that Apple and Google have offered encryption.

"For over three years, Android has offered encryption, and keys are not stored off of the device, so they cannot be shared with law enforcement," spokeswoman Niki Christoff to the Washington Post. "As part of our next Android release, encryption will be enabled by default out of the box, so you won't even have to think about turning it on."

While Comey says he understands the need for consumer privacy, emergency situations that could be brought to an end with a warrant are moving out of reach. He states the inability to search a smartphone with a warrant is akin to a company marketing a closet that could never be opened in a kidnap situation.

"Buy our phone and law enforcement, even with legal process, can never get access to it," adds Comey. Critics have noted the "even with" qualifier, and frequently complained that it is government agencies such as the FBI that frequently operate "above the law."

However, the encryption doesn't block all types of law enforcement or government access to phone data. Agencies could still request call and text log information from wireless carriers, or third-party companies that collect data through apps. Tapping phones through providers remains an option as well, and forensic tools that can crack common encryption continues to exist. Apple acknowledges that it can provide agencies with certain meta-data from iCloud, as it isn't subject to the same security.

For now, Comey says that the FBI is in contact with Google and Apple in order to learn why they are marketing devices in this manner, as well as to better understand the technology.
( Last edited by NewsPoster; Sep 30, 2014 at 05:35 AM. )
     
bobolicious
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Sep 25, 2014, 06:42 PM
 
....by all counts I hear governance decided to unilaterally trash the 4th amendment and hope they would not get caught breaking the law they were charged with upholding - is this simply democracy at work...?
     
cashxx
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Sep 25, 2014, 06:44 PM
 
How does he figure the consumer is being put above the law? We have the right to our privacy, he is asking to be above the law!
     
chimaera
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Sep 25, 2014, 06:58 PM
 
Originally Posted by NewsPoster View Post
... the FBI is in contact with Google and Apple in order to learn why they are marketing devices in this manner ...
This is getting scary. Apparently PRIVACY or RIGHTS have become 4-letter words within the FBI. Something they have to ask about, because they can't think of the answer.
     
SierraDragon
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Sep 25, 2014, 07:43 PM
 
The scary thing is that we have allowed this immense law enforcement community to build up that absolutely thinks it should be above the law. And that community keeps growing and lobbying for its own interests that further deteriorate the society they are alleged to "protect and serve." DEA would be a prime example, and FBI abuses (the ones we know about) have been well documented.
     
James Katt
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Sep 25, 2014, 09:54 PM
 
Our right to privacy is the law dummy.
     
growlf
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Sep 25, 2014, 11:39 PM
 
We say we want privacy. We use Google. We say we want privacy. We use Facebook.

'If You Have Something You Don't Want Anyone To Know, Maybe You Shouldn't Be Doing It' - Eric Schmidt

At this point in my life, I look at all of this and think we've built the world we deserve.
     
jmonty12
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Sep 26, 2014, 12:28 AM
 
The government only has itself to blame. I think that people used to be pretty comfortable when it was necessary to get a court order before their private conversations and information could be accessed. But now with these "national security letters", no warrant is necessary and there isn't any oversight to make sure it isn't abused (and it is!) By law a company can't even reveal when they've received such a letter. If the government hadn't abused this new power I believe companies like Apple would not have found it necessary to protect their customers better.

How messed up is it that corporate america is finding itself in the position of protecting their customers from the government?!?
     
DiabloConQueso
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Sep 26, 2014, 09:55 AM
 
growlf, you're absolutely right -- "Facebook invaded my privacy!" Oh yeah? Who was the person who willingly and knowingly and flippantly gave Facebook all that information to begin with?

If you don't want someone to know something, or you have information you don't want to get out into the public, don't type it or upload it into a web service.

On a side note, this phone encryption doesn't put citizens above the law, it knocks the FBI back down below the law where it belongs.
     
nycnikato
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Sep 26, 2014, 12:44 PM
 
This is not really of concern. If the Feds have a search warrant then the police or investigators can come and seize the phone. A judge can then compel the individual to unlock his phone or face jail time for obstruction of justice and contempt of court . Let's use the laws we have on the books instead of crying that Apple and now Google have phones that are too secure. Iphone 6 makes this easier as there would be no passcode to remember. just ask the individual to place his finger on the pad.
     
DiabloConQueso
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Sep 26, 2014, 04:12 PM
 
"just ask the individual to place his finger on the pad."

The hidden (and huge) assumption being that the person has activated and configured the TouchID portion of the phone.

The iPhone 6/+ most definitely *does* have a passcode, by default. TouchID must be specifically and explicitly configured.

Remember, iPhone 5S has TouchID as well, but only if the user configured it -- it's not something that's relegated to the iPhone 6/+.

Bigger questions exist -- such as, "What if the user has the wipe data function enabled after X number of failed logins, and proceeds to give X false passcodes to the authorities, causing the data to be wiped? Would they face additional charges, such as obstruction of justice or destruction/tampering of evidence in addition to contempt?"
     
Steve Wilkinson
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Sep 26, 2014, 05:37 PM
 
If you actually believe Apple and Google don't have a back-door deal for the government... I have this bridge for sale...

@ Growlf - I guess it depends on whether you're doing something that is actually wrong. Of course, then you shouldn't be doing it. The problem is that more and more things are getting labeled as unlawful, even if they are good things. The thought police are going to use any communications they can intercept to crack down on anything that doesn't match their ideologies. So, it isn't just a matter of people wanting to get away with things they shouldn't be doing in the first place.
------
Steve Wilkinson
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cgWerks | TilledSoil.org
     
Flying Meat
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Sep 26, 2014, 06:08 PM
 
growlf: your arguments are of course weak. We can choose to share, it doesn't mean we wish to share all.

...and Eric Schmidt can shove it.
     
   
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