(22th Feb 2016) Darren Hayes argues in The Guardian that Apple has a powerful legal and moral obligation to assist the U.S.
Darren Hayes argues in The Guardian that Apple has a powerful legal and moral obligation to assist the U.S. government by giving it access to the data in the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino terrorist/murderers. Mr. Hayes says that Apple is trying to confuse law enforcement and surveillance.
Mr. Hayes writes that “Many forensics examiners, including myself, know that what is at stake is not just the San Bernardino case but a growing backlog of criminal cases – some involving suspected child abusers or terrorists – that cannot proceed because of Apple’s defiance in assisting law enforcement.’’
He continues:
“Mobile forensics examiners also know that iPhones, and other smartphones which enable full disk encryption, have become the communication device of choice for Isis members because of this derisory public debate. The current potential solutions to extract data from encrypted devices … will cost taxpayers millions of dollars compared to a more simple solution, which Apple could provide if it wanted.’’
“In this case, law enforcement agencies are simply asking Apple to revert back to its previous model of encryption management or make simple, low-cost modifications. Apple used to possess more control over their devices and could facilitate an investigation when a request was made using both a warrant and a court order. ‘’
“….There has been little or no productive dialogue between the government and Apple in terms of cooperation,’’ Mr. Hayes notes.