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FBI Paid More Than $1M to Hack San Bernardino iPhone

wsj.com

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Re: FBI Paid More Than $1M to Hack San Bernardino iPhone

#91

Post by reynoldsbd »

hardwaresofton wrote: post #84
oneloop wrote: post #12

Same article on the FT: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/af23e3ea-07f1-11e6-b6d3-746f8e9cdd... James Comey, director of the FBI, said on Thursday that the cost was “worth it”, but added that an accommodation needed to be made with Apple and other technology companies in the future, as paying outside technologists to find ways to access highly-encrypted messages on phones used by terrorist suspects was not “scalable.”

Along what dimension is this "not scalable"? If you have 100 iPhoneCs and the exploit works on all of them, it sounds like it's very scalable to me. It doesn't scale across every iphone ever made (or that will be made), but honestly, with a few tweaks (maybe a forced OS downgrade, whatever), it could be made to be. Also, if you don't release the attack vector, things get even murkier. Plus, the government happens to…

I think he meant "scalable" in terms of the amount of money, time and effort it will take to overcome each subsequent security obstacle faced by law enforcement. In that sense, this whole Apple-FBI fiasco was certainly not scalable.

Also, money is a very real limiting factor. The government can't just print more money to solve its problems.

Re: FBI Paid More Than $1M to Hack San Bernardino iPhone

#92

Post by reginaa »

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Re: FBI Paid More Than $1M to Hack San Bernardino iPhone

#93

Post by reginaa »

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Re: FBI Paid More Than $1M to Hack San Bernardino iPhone

#96

Post by enraged_camel »

euyyn wrote: post #38
Aelinsaar wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

False dichotomy is false. They didn't have to do this, and by all accounts, received nothing of value for the money.

> by all accounts, received nothing of value for the money How can you know that?

>>How can you know that?

We can't. That's the problem! The government just spend a million fucking dollars to access a phone's contents, and we have no idea if it was worth it. This lack of accountability is what's causing them to flaunt civil liberties so brazenly and shamelessly. If cornered, they always use the "it's a matter of national security!" excuse.

Re: FBI Paid More Than $1M to Hack San Bernardino iPhone

#97

Post by cpncrunch »

droithomme wrote: post #78

Given that they found no relevant information on his work phone, exactly as experts and reasonable amateurs and common men predicted, how was it "worth it" as he claims? Is it that wasting huge sums of taxpayer money while attacking civil rights and attempting to instantiate a police surveillance state with no privacy is simply "worth it" no matter what, even if pointless?

It was worth it because they didn't know that beforehand. Now the FBI are sure that the attackers weren't in contact with other ISIS members. The FBI thinks that information is worth the $1.2M+ they paid.

How could they possibly have known that without unlocking the phone?

Re: FBI Paid More Than $1M to Hack San Bernardino iPhone

#98

Post by cpncrunch »

Aelinsaar wrote: post #77
euyyn wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> by all accounts, received nothing of value for the money How can you know that?

I can't KNOW it, which is why I said, "By all accounts".

According to their own account they did get their money's worth:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/19/politics/san-bernadino-iphone-...

The fact that the FBI have confirmed there were no contacts with other ISIS members is valuable information.

Re: FBI Paid More Than $1M to Hack San Bernardino iPhone

#99

Post by cpncrunch »

tn13 wrote: post #88

This is our tax money down the drain by scaring us to death for fear of non-existent terrorist threat. It is remarkable how such FBI directors don't get fired from their job.

I'm not entirely sure how you can call 14 deaths "non-existent".

Re: FBI Paid More Than $1M to Hack San Bernardino iPhone

#100

Post by ipsin »

oneloop wrote: post #12

Same article on the FT: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/af23e3ea-07f1-11e6-b6d3-746f8e9cdd... James Comey, director of the FBI, said on Thursday that the cost was “worth it”, but added that an accommodation needed to be made with Apple and other technology companies in the future, as paying outside technologists to find ways to access highly-encrypted messages on phones used by terrorist suspects was not “scalable.”

Was it "worth it" because they dodged the potential for setting a precedent that limited the FBI's power?

It doesn't seem like it was "worth it" because they found useful evidence on the phone.

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