Will an Apple Insider Help the Government Crack Encryption?

The big news right now is the buzz around Apple being ordered by a judge to help the government break into an Apple phone belonging to a terror suspect.  This is not a new battle.  What many stories will leave off is that this battle has been going on between the federal government and Apple for years now.  The government was furious when the “unbreakable” encryption came out and has been trying to get Apple to give them a back door ever since.  To put it in no uncertain terms, the government wants an access point to spy on anybody who has an Apple device if the government finds the need to spy on that person.

So far Apple has held its ground but don’t be so sure.  They could fold at any time but they are in a very precarious position.  On one hand Apple has the chance to follow the court order and assist in the break in of a terrorist’s phone which would be a great thing……But at what cost?  Personal privacy is on the line here.  Once law enforcement gets that encryption for the one phone do you really think it will stop there?  It will not.  Once this phone belonging to the terrorist is broken into, the encryption that millions have relied upon to keep their personal data safe will be toast!  This will first start being used in some other high profile cases that look good to the public.  Perhaps a murder, or a violent robbery will get solved.  Then the hack will find its way into local police stations around the country.

Somewhere along the way thieves and criminals will start stealing data and bank information from unsuspecting victims.  Keep in mind that the victims are part of the 90% idiots in the world that probably don’t even know this story exists and probably wouldn’t believe it if you told them.  These poor fools are going to have their bank accounts looted and their identities stolen by hackers and then it’s all going to be used to pay for more global terrorism.  This is why the phone situation should be left alone.

As always, I want to give you the best piece of advice I can offer:  Don’t do anything on an electronic device that you wouldn’t want to explain on national television or to a jury.  Apple may cave and give it all up.  This may hurt their street cred but with the right amount of pressure from the government they will drop the dime.  They may also try to save face and send the government a helper that has recently “resigned” from the company.  NEVER EVER EVER PUT YOUR FAITH IN THE SECURITY OF AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE.  You will be disappointed.

Tech Privacy Will Soon be Back-Doored by Government

Recently pressure for tech companies to relinquish their hold on encryption has increased. Government agencies are growing more and more impatient with the designers of devices that allow users to communicate “in the dark” without fear of being monitored.

The repeated cries of the agencies is that dangerous terrorists like ISIS and other gangs are able to go dark and plot their evil. The proposed solution is for the government agencies to be granted a back door access by the tech companies who create the devices. This alleged back door would supposedly be used only in the most extreme cases of suspected wrongdoing and would only be accessible by approved government officers.

This all sounds good but you have to remember if it sounds too good to be true it probably isn’t true. This is where my take on things turns aside from the rest of the herd. This is all a big show in my opinion. I believe the back door on your device is already there and if you are someone of interest you are being watched and listened to right now. In fact, you can gather most of what I told you in the first couple of paragraphs from Fox News, but I am writing about it to warn my readers. Don’t be stupid. Don’t do illegal stuff, but also don’t think you are safe just because you are not doing anything illegal. The back door can also let burglars in. It can let foreign spies in as well. As far as only government employees having access to the back door, I will just say I hope you know how that goes.   Consider the last job you had. Did you lose the skills you learned at that job when you quit or got fired? Neither will government employees when they get fired or quit.

Be honest with yourself. This modern technology is only going to make life easier for you and if you don’t keep up you will feel left out. I understand all that but don’t make decisions that are going to compromise your privacy.