NSA Could Hack the iPhone without Apple; and FBI Stance Will Backfire to make Even Tighter Security

[dgstorm]

The latest drama surrounding the FBI vs Apple case regarding the San Bernardino iPhone is heating up with two different developments. The first news comes from Richard Clarke, who was the National Security Council’s chief counter-terrorism advisor to three presidents, including George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Clarke has made the claim that the National Security Agency (NSA) could hack into the San Bernardino iPhone if the FBI would ask them to.

Clarke asserts that the only reason the FBI is pursuing this case is to set a legal precedent which would give them broader authority to require hacking information during investigations in the future. Here's a quote from Clarke with more of the details, "What the FBI and the Justice Department are trying to do is to make code writers at Apple – to make them write code that they do not want to write that will make their systems less secure."

Clarke also shared that a large list of intelligence officials agree with Apple on the issue. This includes the secretary of defense, "the National Security Agency director and three past National Security Agency directors, a former CIA director, [and] a former Homeland Security secretary."

Furthermore, Clarke added that every expert he knows “believes that NSA could crack this phone.” He claims that he “would have simply told the FBI to call Fort Meade, the headquarters of the National Security Agency, and NSA would have solved this problem for them.”

Clarke's final claim is that the FBI and DOJ have no interest in actually solving the problem. He believes their main goal is to set a "legal precedent,” so the government can “compel a computer device manufacturer to allow the government in.”

The second part of this news has been floating around the web for a while now, since the brouhaha began. Apple has indicated that they will now get to work on a version of iOS that is even more secure than the last one. Their intention is to create an "unhackable" iPhone.

That's not all though. Several major tech companies which have supported Apple's position will be working on greater security for their products and services as well. This includes companies like Google, Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp and several other companies, who have all made it clear that they are now working on making their apps more secure, and this action is a direct result of the FBI’s actions against Apple.

Basically, by taking this draconian approach to the situation, the FBI and the Department of Justice have created their own worst nightmare in which they have alienated most of the world's major tech companies. These companies are now doubling down on technology security which will make the FBI's job even harder in the future.

Source: NPR

 

[xeene]

I read that article from Clarke yesterday. First thing that popped in my head is that smartphones didn't even exist when he worked for nsa.

What makes him think that what they were doing 10 years ago would work today? I'm being very skeptical of what he thinks.

 

[nguyenlm]

I read that article from Clarke yesterday. First thing that popped in my head is that smartphones didn't even exist when he worked for nsa.

What makes him think that what they were doing 10 years ago would work today? I'm being very skeptical of what he thinks.

Your implying and assuming that the NSA hasn't changed in 10 years.
It's an organization that deals with intelligence gathering and counter intelligence. If they didn't at minimum be working with Next Gen tech they'd be gathering dated/useless information.

 

[mountainbikermark]

The government never seems to understand there will always be unintended consequences every time they meddle with anything. This same government wasn't quite convinced before the first above ground atomic bomb test that it wouldn't burn off the entire atmosphere of the earth but they did the test anyway. Imagine had the tin hatters not been wrong with that one.
Our , and every other government in the history of mankind, has never been very good at predicting "the human factor".

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[xeene]

Your implying and assuming that the NSA hasn't changed in 10 years.
It's an organization that deals with intelligence gathering and counter intelligence. If they didn't at minimum be working with Next Gen tech they'd be gathering dated/useless information.

No, I'm implying that he hasn't worked for government for over a decade and doesn't have the clearance he used to have to know what they can and can't do.

 

[dgstorm]

If it were just Clarke saying it, I could see your point, but there are quite a few intelligence industry experts who agree with him. There are also a number of people in the tech world who are confident the NSA could hack the device if they were asked.

 

[mountainbikermark]

If it were just Clarke saying it, I could see your point, but there are quite a few intelligence industry experts who agree with him. There are also a number of people in the tech world who are confident the NSA could hack the device if they were asked.

The Chinese government probably already has. If not I'm sure it's near the top of their to do list.

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[Amagine]

This was something I mentioned from day one. Yes the NSA does have the means. If you think they don't you are fooling yourself. Know where a large majority of hackers graduate to, once they've grown out of the college induced "Truth & change" manifestos they first ran around cyberspace with? Government work.