Post Tagged with: "apple"

Information security by Ervins Strauhmanis (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/umPu7S

Why the FBI’s Apple iPhone Demands Are Rotten to the Core

The U.S. government’s attempt to invoke a centuries-old law to obtain a court order to require Apple to create a program that would allow it to break the security safeguards on the iPhone used by a San Bernardino terrorist has sparked an enormous outcry from the technology, privacy, and security communities.

For U.S. officials, a terrorism related rationale for creating encryption backdoors or weakening user security represents the most compelling scenario for mandated assistance. Yet even in those circumstances, companies, courts, and legislatures should resist the urge to remove one of the last bastions of user security and privacy protection.

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) argues that this case is about far more than granting U.S. law enforcement access to whatever information remains on a single password-protected iPhone. Investigators already have a near-complete electronic record: all emails and information stored on cloud-based computers, most content on the phone from a cloud back-up completed weeks earlier, telephone records, social media activity, and data that reveals with whom the terrorist interacted. Moreover, given the availability of all of that information, it seems likely that much of the remaining bits of evidence on the phone can be gathered from companies or individuals at the other end of the conversation.

Read more ›

March 1, 2016 4 comments Columns
See you in 2021 by Amerhadi Azmi (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/8kfRXD

The Trouble With the TPP, Day 32: Illusory Safeguards Against Encryption Backdoors

The news that the U.S. government has obtained a court order requiring Apple to assist law enforcement to break the encryption on an iPhone owned by one of the San Bernadino terrorists has sparked widespread concern. There is some debate over the scope of the judicial order – Techdirt points out that the order does not require Apple to break its encryption but rather allow the government to “brute force” the password without deleting the data – but it is clear that the goal is to limit the effectiveness of the encryption protections found on the popular device. Apple has issued a public letter stating its view that this is a dangerous precedent that could be repeated over and over again. Indeed, if a U.S. court can issue such an order, there is seemingly nothing to stop other governments from doing the same.

What does this have to do with the TPP?

The U.S. has suggested that the TPP would address these issues, claiming that the agreement:

Read more ›

February 17, 2016 10 comments News

Apple Canada Was Only Tech Company to Respond to Privacy Commish Request on Disclosure Practices

Last week’s revelations on the massive number of requests for subscriber information focused specifically on the responses from major Canadian telecom and Internet providers. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada wrote to the 12 largest providers, who responded with a single document that aggregated the responses of 11 of the companies (though some declined to provide information to questions such as how many user accounts were disclosed).

The Access to Information Act requested documents that contained the telco response also revealed that the Privacy Commissioner sent a similar letter to the leading Internet and technology companies. The list of recipients included Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and eBay. While some of the companies now offer transparency reports that feature data on disclosure requests (and compliance with those requests), few did in 2011. On Friday, I received a supplemental document to my access to information request that contains the full response from Apple Canada.

Read more ›

May 5, 2014 3 comments News

SOCAN Seeks Millions from YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, Apple & Sony in Interim Online Music Tariff

SOCAN has filed an application with the Copyright Board of Canada for interim tariff to cover royalties for the communication to the public by telecommunication of musical works in connection with movie/tv streaming and user generated content sites. The obvious targets of the interim tariff are some of the biggest […]

Read more ›

June 15, 2011 43 comments News

Apple and Sony Privacy Woes Point to Legal Holes

Appeared in the Toronto Star on May 1, 2011 as Apple, Sony security slips show flaws in our laws Privacy officials have long warned about unseen consumer privacy risks, yet the issue has rarely generated significant political attention in Canada with potential reforms languishing for years without action. Recent high […]

Read more ›

May 5, 2011 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive