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What the... I was under the impression that iCloud backups are end-to-end encrypted. This is a HUGE problem.
iPhone/iPad backups stored locally on iTunes (or Finder, in Catalina) are end-to-end encrypted. iCloud backups always were encrypted based on a key derived from your iCloud account credentials, since the beginning...
This is also why you should never use cloud backups for iMessage or WhatsApp.
https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2012/04/05/icloud-w...
The fact that they started working on the problem then abandoned it after the FBI complained is disappointing, especially to Apple consumers. But all it means is the status quo marches on.
Headlines like this vindicate my decision to never purchase an Apple product.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That was a coordinated PR move between Apple and the government. The US administration went into heavy damage control mode with the large tech companies after the Snowden revelations about PRISM et c.
Do you have any evidence for that? Sounds like a bit of a conspiracy theory to me.
Put yourself in their shoes. These companies stand to lose tens or perhaps hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign sales if there isn’t a counter-narrative to “well of course they spy for their national military, just look at these Snowden slides”. Making it seem like they are fighting for their customers at odds with the FBI is a perfect counterpoint.
Meanwhile, it’s business as usual for US military intelligence, as evidenced by TFA. Excellent reporting!
The ambiguous position on true end-to-end encryption shows once again that Apple is in for the marketing (both to consumers—predatory and dangerous, and to engineering talent—dishonest). Same hypocrisy as on the China issue. Not that there is an easy solution when you are one of the biggest companies on the planet and that shareholders essentially expect you to grow forever while playing nice with everyone.
Easy fix: back up your iPhone locally on your computer instead of using iCloud: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203977#computer The ambiguous position on true end-to-end encryption shows once again that Apple is in for the marketing (both to consumers—predatory and dangerous, and to engineering talent—dishonest). Same hypocrisy as on the China issue. Not that there is an easy solution when you are one of the bigges…
Reminds me of WhatsApp claiming it had encryption everywhere and then this [0] dropped. Except, in this case, I'm actually surprised. Didn't Apple publicly claim that it wouldn't bow down to any demands from the agencies? [0]: https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3061660/whatsapp-i...
> Didn't Apple publicly claim IIRC it said it wouldn't bow down on implementing back doors to unlock protected devices and encrypted content on them, which is specific enough not to cover this case. Bowing down on implementing new security features doesn't go against the promise to not bow down on the security of existing ones, as written. It can be argued to go against the spirit of the earlier public statement of c…
Reminds me of WhatsApp claiming it had encryption everywhere and then this [0] dropped. Except, in this case, I'm actually surprised. Didn't Apple publicly claim that it wouldn't bow down to any demands from the agencies? [0]: https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3061660/whatsapp-i...
It's mostly marketing bullshit. Apple and Microsoft both tried to build ad businesses, but when they weren't as successful as Google, they turned lemons into lemonade by launching data privacy PR campaigns against Google. Meanwhile, Apple and Microsoft quietly censor their products in China, surrender data to Chinese authorities, and now we find Apple is intentionally leaving iCloud data insecure. Presumably Google w…
It would be nice if Apple was more forthcoming with that fact but there is some onus on the customer these days to understand what's private and what is not.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202303
iCloud backups are not on the list of end-to-end encrypted.