FBI vs. Apple: A Fool's Mission

Part Two of Two: High Hanging Fruit

In the first part of this article, I described the confrontation between the U.S. Government and the Apple Company about the issue of Uncle Sam gaining access to Apple’s most recent iPhone system. I explained that much of Uncle Sam’s initial efforts would result in a treasure of low hanging “information fruit.” For this second part, we look at the higher fruit on the tree.

High Hanging Fruit

The big-time players already know how to encrypt their files inside their machines using public software or likely in the future, software created by the terrorists themselves.

Thus, even if the government forces Apple to break into an Apple machine, the files inside that machine can be deciphered using a key known only to the owner of the machine. The Feds and hacks can examine and alter (for the hacks, damage) much of the machine’s functions. But they still cannot get into the encrypted files inside the machine.

There you have it, an unbreakable file. The FBI is into a suspect’s machine. The FBI can scout-around its insides. But the FBI cannot decrypt the suspect’s encrypted files. Thanks to American technology, ISIS is executing public encryption/decryption systems, but made secret by the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) (Again, see “The Internet: Protecting User Content,” Coeur d’ Alene Press, January 6, 2016).

An ISIS killer or the dangerous hack, bent on doing harm, will learn (or already knows) how to use an encryption key for his/her files. It is cumbersome to let that key be known to a recipient, but far from infeasible. It fact, it is not all that difficult. This encrypted file can then be sent through the Internet.

What will Uncle Sam gain by having the ability to open anyone’s machine? In the short run, information the user has not yet encrypted. In the long run, nothing except the information people don’t care if anyone knows about — the low hanging fruit. But many people will encrypt their files for the sake of privacy.

If the backdoors of the world’s computers are allowed to be opened, a user will have no choice but to attempt to protect its contents. What a waste of time and money, with so little to gain.

In the meantime, we can be assured ISIS is already behind the door of Uncle Sam’s backdoor project, busily and routinely using encryption on its files.

Oh, the FBI will protect this secret? Last week on 60 Minutes, the FBI Director admitted his computer had been hacked. So can Apple’s system.

The Tip of the Security Iceberg

Less democratic countries, such as China and Iran, are hoping Apple will relent to Uncle Sam’s demands and are already gearing-up to challenge Apple, Dell, Lenovo, and other manufacturers. Apple spent much time to get into markets ruled by despots. Amazingly, it was able to keep its security protocols intact. If Apple bends to Uncle Sam, it will have to bend to other governments. Simply stated, it sets a precedent. Meanwhile, the smart users will encode their files to make them impregnable.

Uncle Sam can glean a vast amount of precise and accurate information on the sociopaths of the world with Big Data and metadata operations. Uncle should be allowed unfettered access to metadata, the subject of a previous article (CDA Press, January 8, “Big Data and Metadata”).

The government’s backdoor program will eventually yield little information. Initially, there will be low hanging fruit from the slow learners. In the long run (and likely even now) the fruit will be inedible because it cannot be read. Some information might remain readable, but the ISISes of the world know the same tricks as America’s geeks.

The current actions of the U.S. government will have major implications on Americans’ civil liberties and even the way citizens go about their day-by-day Internet lives. They will now have to protect their once secure files on their machines.

I have great respect for the FBI and NSA. They are dedicated to keep us safe from some very dangerous people. Yes, they go “off track” sometimes in their zeal to do their job. But we should be glad they are in our corner.

Nonetheless, President Obama is pursuing a fool’s mission with his approach to this situation. In the long run, the low hanging fruit will have been picked and the high hanging fruit will be inedible.

Meanwhile, America’s adversaries’ security saliva is dripping from their jowls: If Uncle Sam can force Apple and others to open their machines, so can other governments. And to read what? Ultimately, unreadable text.

Uyless Black is an award-winning author who has written 40 books on a variety of subjects. His latest book is titled “2084 and Beyond,” a work on the origins and consequences of human aggression. He resides in Coeur d’Alene.