Information Technology in the News

What's Going On?

One of the most well-known instances of Information Technology being in the news is the recent case involving Apple and the FBI. For those unfamiliar with the case, here is a breakdown: When Sayed Farook and Tashfeen Malik decided to gun down people at a San Bernardino, California party on December 2nd, they had made sure to destroy (literally smash to bits) their personal phones and get rid of their computer’s hard drive to presumably hide evidence of their ties with other terrorists and their plans for more terrorist attacks. The one thing they did not destroy was Farook’s company issued cell phone – an iPhone. The FBI wanted to see “who Farook was communicating with and which websites he might have visited in the days leading up to the December 2 massacre,” but this task was made difficult by the encryption software on Apple’s iPhones that makes it so that the phone will erase itself if 10 wrong passcodes are entered in a row (CNET). Apple gave the FBI Farook’s iCloud backup storage, but it only went through October 19, so the FBI wanted more information and ordered Apple to create a new, custom version of the phone’s operating system that would stop the phone from erasing after the allotted passcode attempts and make it so they could connect a supercomputer to the phone so they can use a brute force attack to find the passcode and get data off the phone. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook is quoted by Hollister and Guglielmo as saying, “In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks." (CNET). While the fight has been put on hold because of today’s announcement that the FBI unlocked the phone with help from a third party, it raised a lot of questions about digital privacy and security and about just how much power the government should have when directing private companies to create software for surveillance. 

So What is the Controversy?

Before a third party showed up on the scene to assist the FBI in cracking the iPhone, we had the FBI insisting that Apple write new software for the task stating that the law doesn’t support a company making phones that are “warrant proof” while Apple said that if they complied with the FBI’s order it would “create a new security vulnerability for untold millions of iPhone users” (Wall Street Journal). Those on the side of the FBI wanted Apple to help prevent future terrorist attacks by assisting the FBI in getting whatever data could be gathered about the terrorist groups Farook and Malik were conspiring with and hopefully, even save some lives. Those on Apple’s side argue that dangerous precedence could be set that gives the government too much authority to force private companies to create software that can be used to track and surveil citizens. While I certainly want to prevent any more terrorist attacks like Farook and Malik’s, I am not willing to give up my freedom in order to obtain a sense of safety. Even if Apple was fighting the FBI’s order only to protect their business, I am thankful that they were ready to take it all the way to the Supreme Court if need be.

References
http://www.cnet.com/news/apple-versus-the-fbi-why-the-lowest-priced-iphone-has-the-us-in-a-tizzy-faq/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/fbi-unlocks-terrorists-iphone-without-apples-help-1459202353