Apple vs The FBI

            Over the past week, Apple has faced pressure from the FBI to provide a system update that would allow them to unlock the Iphone of one of the San Bernardino shooting suspects. Apple has cooperated with authorities throughout the investigation, however they are strongly opposing pressure to create an update that would allow authorities to gain access to the device.

            Apple is gaining a large amount of support from consumers and other tech companies due to the fact they are setting a precedent for protecting their costumers privacy. Although they have admitted to having the required code needed to unlock the phone, Apple fears that providing the government with this ability will compromise the privacy of all other Apple users. Hackers could very easily gain access to the code, threatening thousands of Iphone users private information. I believe that this is a strong reason for why Apple should not provide the code to the FBI because private information would then be available to anyone with the knowledge and ability to hack the systems. In recent years, Apple has been very willing to work with government officials, especially when it comes to retrieving information from users ICloud accounts. According to Apple, it’s users know that these files are made available to the company, with Apple holding the key to the encrypted files in case they need to be retrieved for any reason. I think this is an important aspect to keep in mind when understanding the current issue between the FBI because users files and information that they have synced with the cloud are available to authorities if granted legal access, however the information provided by the San Bernardino’s ICloud account leaves many questions, which is why the FBI continues to pressure Apple to help them hack the phone. The final point that I find very important is that is Apple does provide the code necessary to crack the phone, governments throughout the world that continue monitor and control free speech and threaten their citizens will use this update to control their citizens even more. Ultimately I stand with Apples decision to protect their costumer’s privacy and stand against government infringement on personal property.

            Although I do personally agree with Apples decision to refrain from cracking the phone, it is easy to understand the opposing argument. This article mentions that the information stored on the phone is unknown, and I believe this fact is the one supporting piece of evidence that the FBI should argue. In the modern day, terrorism organizations use technology for all aspects of their crimes, and the FBI could gain valuable information from the phone. I believe there are ways in which Apple could provide officials with a code to crack the phone, and subsequently provide Iphone users with a software update to protect it from being hacked. Despite the outcome of this case, I believe it is important for Apple to do all things possible to protect the privacy of its users.

Source

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-apple-attorney-fbi-order-could-destroy-the-iphone-as-it-exists-20160221-story.html

Outside Source

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/22/technology/apple-still-holds-the-keys-to-its-cloud-service-but-reluctantly.html?_r=0