Apple nominated for Internet Hero of the Year, Donald Trump for Villain It's that time of the year again, and plucky little indie outlet Apple has been nominated for the internet hero of the year award at the 2016 UK Internet Industry Awards, which has also nominated Donald Trump as the villain of the year. The nominations, which are “based on crowdsourced suggestions from the public with a final …
The fact that another way was found to access the data on that particular phone, and that supporting their users was also acting in their own corporate interest doesn't change that. I think almost everyone would acknowledge that Apple took a risk with their position, as the FBI carefully chose that case to push all the right buttons in the average person's mind to make them look bad for refusing to help in the way the FBI was asking.
Had public opinion turned strongly against them, they risked a significant loss in sales and prestige, while if public opinion had been strongly with them they'd win internet 'awards' like this one but it probably wouldn't translate into a whole lot of sales. I doubt they get many people switching from Android over privacy, when that is but one of dozens of factors people use when deciding what phone to buy.
> The fact that another way was found to access the data on that particular phone
I seriously doubt that "they" accessed anything off that phone. It looked to me more like a convenient excuse to exit from an unwinnable situation. Also by dropping the issue, rather than pursuing it legally, no legal precedent has been set.
and given Google incessant need for your data and with Microsoft wanting to get their slice of the pie, even if you hate Apple, you should at least give them a bit of kudos for not being the same as the other two.
They are trying to be different when it comes to user data security. MS had a chance but with W10 Adds on the lock screen and not the LinkIn data slurp I see them as being no better than Google.
Sure it is possible they decided to back off, either because they thought they would lose or couldn't risk a loss even if they felt they had a 99% chance of success.
However, given that it was an older phone that predates the secure enclave, it would be a lot easier to get in than one of the newer ones. And even the newer ones aren't necessarily immune, but now that Apple knows they need to defend against potentially being forced to hack their own phones they can design against that possibility. I suspect that iOS 10 will remove the ability to install an OS in DFU mode without providing the password or otherwise authenticating yourself or the connected PC to the phone. That would completely block the angle that the FBI was asking the court to force Apple to attempt.
Fully agreed with you. Personally I don't really like Apple, in my opinion their products are sometimes overpriced and they also perform a shady business when it comes to warranties (read: deliberately ignoring Dutch law for example) but this issue definitely gains them a lot of my respect.
"The fact that another way was found to access the data on that particular phone, and that supporting their users was also acting in their own corporate interest doesn't change that."
Well, it has been a while (and I'm too lazy to look it up) but if memory serves me right it was actually also partly because of the feds themselves that they couldn't get more data from that phone. They turned the whole thing off even though it was still set to perform automated backups. One more cycle and they could have gotten more from it as well (once again: I can't rule out the option that I'm mixing up facts here).
"I think almost everyone would acknowledge that Apple took a risk with their position, as the FBI carefully chose that case to push all the right buttons in the average person's mind to make them look bad for refusing to help in the way the FBI was asking."
Hypocrisy at its finest IMO, especially if you keep in mind that Apple had complied to all other wishes from the Feds, even having no problem with giving them access to previously mentioned backups. Apple stood up for the rights (and privacy) of its customers which is something you can only respect.
Still... Even though I'm happy with the turn out I also can't help wonder what would have happened if this had been taken to court. Would be funny if the legal system would have ruled against the prying of the Feds (which I think would have been quite likely) :)
Keir Starmer nominated for continued scrutiny of the Investigatory Powers Bill
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