The mass killers in California,Tashfeen Malik and Syed Rizwan Farook, did a number of things on their computers and cell phones which the FBI wants to tap into to see if there is a wider conspiracy. Apple computer’s chief, Time Cook, has been defiant and says he will encrypt phones to the point, no one can unlock them in the future. Donald Trump is asking everyone to boycott Apple. This is where the ‘hippie, California dude’ stuff slams into the police stuff. Who will win?
Tim Cook: US government is asking Apple for ‘software equivalent of cancer’ – Telegraph
Mr Cook has been at the forefront of the pushback from Silicon Valley over the government’s efforts to break through encryption behind which suspected terrorists can communicate undetected.
The recent showdown began after a federal judge ordered Apple to provide a “back door” for the government to mine data from the mobile phone of Syed Farook who, along with his wife, killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California in December.
Technology companies have said that they cannot open security doors to investigators without leaving them open to more nefarious actors.
Yesterday, James Comey, director of the FBI, told a US congressional committee that the agency was not trying to set a precedent with its request.
What is particularly funny here is, the internet and the computer business began as a CIA operation. It was all about making it possible to communicate, deal with information incoming and outgoing, LAUNCH NUKES IN WWIII and spying on everyone.
To create all this hardware and software, the government, IBM and others had to hire…crazy hippies, 99% of whom were males and most of whom were, in the 1960s and 1970s, very decidedly antiwar. This entire system was built up by a bunch of guys who were ‘antisocial’ and who resented bosses interfering with them having ‘fun’.
I was most certainly part of all this and did work in this field as did my brothers and father, etc. We were all very involved and at the same time, at odds with each other. The needs of the State clashed with the ideology of the creators of this elaborate tech system that grew out of the Cold War’s need to spy on everyone and do all sorts of tricks like, say, go to the moon.
The terrorists use the systems created by the Rulers who had to use the services of anti-government geeks and this is leading to a huge clash of wills. Apple has to be careful, now that they are in defiance, they are vulnerable to all sorts of mischief. Donald Trump is demanding a boycott of Apple, for example.
The problem here is, Apple isn’t entirely in the right nor is our government. Apple spies on us, for example. Being in a huff about spying is curious since they pry into everything possible as do other corporations. This grandstanding can backfire. Shareholder ends lawsuit against IBM over China risks, NSA scandal which is about bribing the Chinese and how the Chinese use IBM for nefarious purposes, shows how this operates in the Real World.
Business – Apple plays digital privacy hardball with FBI, ‘but not China’ is all about how Apple obeys the Chinese rulers and spies on the Chinese people and others…for the rulers of China. But then clutches pearls and squeals when our government makes a request legally, not by brute force. So much for being honorable and standing on principal. How embarrassing.
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Culture of Life News 
This issue is more complicated. The FBI has been assisted by Apple before so Apple has no problem complying with lawful orders. In this case FBI uses a centuries old law All Writs Act to force broad compliance.
FBI has already made accessing phone data way more difficult by advising the phone owner, (yes the phone was a work phone not personal) the Bernardino Health Authority to change icloud account password so now phone data cant simply be backed up to icloud and accessed. Was that intentional or incomoetence?
Now Apple has to create from scratch a brand new operating system for the phone that bypasses encryption and install it as an update. The new operating system will be unique and applicable to any Apple phone so now Gov would have unfettered access to all Apple phones of this model. Also if Apple complies any Gov can now require this making all Apple phones completely open.
The FBI turns out to have up to 15 other iphones it wants to access with this new hacked OS.
An even bigger worry is that this hacked operating system can now end up outside of Gov hands and be used by anyone.
This is a great test of the “if you don’t have anything to hide why would you worry” crowd versus those who read about Wikileaks, Snowden and Manning and see whats coming.