Comment

Comment on UK wants to weasel out of demand for Apple encryption back door

The funny thing is, advanced data protection was optional, and not on by default. Apple just stopped offering it in the UK

support.apple.com/en-us/108756

When it’s enabled, they can’t access iCloud data at all, even with a warrant due to the fact it’s E2E with keys they don’t control. That’s what the UK got really mad about. But Apple shut the whole feature down for the UK in response to the backdoor ask.

It’s not different from the UK banning signal because it’s E2E encrypted and they can’t access it.

They’re likely only backing down now because of consumer/media backlash

source

Sort:hotnew top

Vinstaal0@feddit.nl ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Apple would need to supply the data if they had the encryption key right? So can we assume that even Apple cannot see the encrypted data?

source
- kautau@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Correct, standard iCloud data is accessible with a warrant. But the UK wanted their own backdoor so they have constant access without a warrant.
  
  But with advanced data protection, Apple can’t provide the data because they don’t have the encryption keys, regardless of a warrant.
  
  Important to note iMessage is always E2E encrypted though, so iMessages cannot be accessed even with a warrant. Advanced data protection just expands that to all iCloud data
  
  source
  - Natanael@infosec.pub ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    Using iMessage with backups does mean the backups are unencrypted and accessible by warrant (unless you use advanced data protection)
    
    source
    kautau@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    Ah yes, that’s true as well
    
    source
  - Vinstaal0@feddit.nl ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    Okay interesting, thank you for the info.
    
    Who even uses iMessage these days? Pretty sure I turned it off completely because it was messing with the 5 SMS I send in a year …
    
    source
    kautau@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    iMessage is far more common in the US afaik. Whereas most people elsewhere will use WhatsApp or whatever, nobody in my extended family uses anything but iMessage to communicate
    
    source
    -> View More Comments
    tarknassus@lemmy.world ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Out of my 10 most recent client contacts, only one has used SMS. The rest are all iMessage.
    
    Sure, that’s anecdotal. But I’m in the UK and this is my experience.
    
    source