Source: CNN

Edward Snowden — the ex-NSA contractor who started this whole privacy debate — has joined the ranks of Apple defenders.
On Tuesday, a federal magistrate-judge ruled that Apple must help the FBI break into the phone of one of the San Bernardino shooters. The FBI was unable to figure out the shooter’s passcode, which is the only way to get inside his iPhone.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is furious, saying that the U.S. government is trying to undermine the security of its flagship product.
“The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers,” Cook said.
Apple plans to fight the decision, aided by the ACLU.
On Wednesday, the divide was clear: politicians versus engineers.
“The FBI is creating a world where citizens rely on Apple to defend their rights, rather than the other way around,” Snowden said Wednesday morning on Twitter.

Late Wednesday, Silicon Valley’s powerful tech industry trade group came out in support of Apple too.
“We worry about the broader implications … of requiring technology companies to cooperate with governments to disable security features, or introduce security vulnerabilities,” said the Information Technology Industry Council, which represents Dell, Facebook (FB, Tech30), Google, Hewlett Packard (HPE, Tech30), IBM (IBM, Tech30), Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30), Nokia (NOK) and others.
For years, the FBI has demanded special access into smartphones. Tech companies have refused, instead increasing the security of their customers’ data.
Cryptographers, the scholars who build security into technology, have unanimously warned that special access is a dangerous idea. To them, this isn’t about security competing with privacy. It’s just about security.

Tech companies, like Apple (AAPL, Tech30) and Google (GOOGL, Tech30), have security on their devices to keep everyone out: hackers, governments, even the companies themselves.
But if they’re forced to open a door for police, criminal hackers and government thugs can get in too.
This battle over data encryption has finally reached a peak.

The San Bernardino shooter, Syed Farook, used an iPhone 5C. The FBI has been trying to guess his passcode to unlock it. If they guess wrong 10 times, Farook’s iPhone will permanently erase all the data stored inside.
Apple doesn’t hold the keys to his device. But the FBI wants Apple to create a special version of its iOS software that will get loaded onto the phone, circumvent Apple’s security features and let agents hack it.
Dan Guido, who runs the cybersecurity firm Trail of Bits, explained in a blog post Wednesday that this hack is possible. He said it would work on any iPhone 5C or older model, putting them “at risk when they’re confiscated by law enforcement around the world.”

Last year, the world’s top cryptographers issued a joint paper saying this is a bad idea. CNN Money asked them if this particular San Bernardino case changes their mind. All seven who responded said no.
Matthew Green, who teaches cryptography and computer security at Johns Hopkins University, fears it’s a slippery slope. If Apple complies with the government this time, it’ll be forced to in the future.
“I haven’t seen any guiding principle that would prevent this from getting out of hand. It could easily result in every American becoming less secure,” he said.

Read more