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Apple plans to scan US iPhones for child abuse imagery

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Re: Apple plans to scan US iPhones for child abuse imagery

#61
Isn't Apple going to start auto scanning the text in your images too for searching/easy copying? How many years until the hash of text in your images is compared to a database of... god knows what. Sensitive information? Dangerous text? I honestly can't think where it's most likely headed but I don't like it.

Re: Apple plans to scan US iPhones for child abuse imagery

#62
> Apple intends to install software on American iPhones to scan for child abuse imagery

> Apple’s neuralMatch algorithm will continuously scan photos that are stored on a US user’s iPhone and have also been uploaded to its iCloud back-up system

Why is there any need for Apple to install software on the iPhone if they are isolating the algorithm to run only on cloud storage, not local images? Not a programmer, so maybe a simple explanation.

Also, if this is isolated to iCloud, won't criminals just start using a different cloud backup provider?

Re: Apple plans to scan US iPhones for child abuse imagery

#64
Do we know why did Apple put the effort to create this? Who forced them to do it? Like it is a move that is bad for PR and also does not make them money, I suspect some big government is demanding it but maybe I am to simple in my thinking and this makes sense.

Re: Apple plans to scan US iPhones for child abuse imagery

#65
> Apple’s neuralMatch algorithm will continuously scan photos that are stored on a US user’s iPhone and have also been uploaded to its iCloud back-up system. Users’ photos, converted into a string of numbers through a process known as “hashing”, will be compared with those on a database of known images of child sexual abuse.

This doesn't really make any sense. So it's not a Neural Engine thing but merely hash matching, and it also only applies to iCloud Backup? That is already non-e2e encrypted, so Apple can already access those files whenever it wants.

Re: Apple plans to scan US iPhones for child abuse imagery

#66
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> perfectly innocent photos on someone's phone of their own children They are using a library of human verified images to compare the hashes. Probably similar to PhotoDNA[0]. There can be false positives, but AFAIK the algorithms are not trying to identify naked children, but comparing 2 similar image hashes. [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhotoDNA

> They are using a library of human verified images to compare the hashes I didn't get that from the article, could you point to a source on this?

Images are submitted by over 1400 organizations[0] like the FBI and NCMEC, although the inner-workings of the database aren’t public and I can’t find a source or confirmation of every image actually being human-verified. The closest is how the "Child Victim Identification Program" helps identify victims in these images.

0: https://www.missingkids.org/theissues/csam#:~:text=Electroni... (ctrl-f "1,400")

Re: Apple plans to scan US iPhones for child abuse imagery

#67
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plain file hashing for this kind of thing has not been used for years (or even decades), Microsoft came out with Photo DNA along time ago, and I am sure now days they have something ML powered to do it. I am not sure the accuracy of these systems but even if they are pretty accurate there is something off putting about this trend. This very much feels like a Guilty until proven innocent type of program... "if you hav…

> Guilty until proven innocent type of program But this software doesn’t make arrests? A comparison would be police asking for what cellphones were in an area. There should be a lot of due process that happens before anything comes of this. I imagine police won’t look into one photo, they would want to match more than one. I agree though, the scary part might be how to clear your name after an overreaction occurs, si…

I see it as an unwarranted search, which makes me feel like the state views me as inherently guilty until innocence is proven by sifting through my photos.

Re: Apple plans to scan US iPhones for child abuse imagery

#68
post #57

This just means child molesters will seek out PinePhones, Purism Librems, etc. And those phones will acquire reputations as "pedophones", and anyone buying or using one will be immediately considered sus. People with nothing to hide won't mind an OS with surveillance features.

Until few high profile cases of people with nothing to hide getting swatted because of false positive / image crafted by a GAN to create false positive.

Re: Apple plans to scan US iPhones for child abuse imagery

#69
post #3

https://towardsdatascience.com/black-box-attacks-on-perceptu... I mean, who's to say that my hash is actually what they think it is... ...and if it's not uploaded to iCloud for someone to manually review what the image is, is that going to be enough to get a search warrant for my phone? "AUSA SOMEONE: But, Your Honor, The Defendant's phone has an image that matched a hash of a CSAM picture!" "DEFENDANT: I'm not going…

I understand the danger of the false positive but I suspect someone with actual child pornography on their device would trigger a dozen or more matches. Clever software would ignore a single match.
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