The CIA and the FBI are always looking for backdoors in Apple devices, in fact, the agency spent years trying to hack iPhone and iPads according to documents released by NSA’s Edward Snowden.
Now, with the new upgraded operating systems, Apple has termed it “impossible” to access any data from Apple devices. Though, the company can still access data from older phones.
This statement came out from the company when a request from U.S. department of Justice was weighed by a Judge in Brooklyn to help them access data from a seized Apple device.
According to the Apple’s response to the court, 90 percent of the devices has ios 8 installed and with the type of encryption already there in the phone, it’s nearly impossible to access the data without the passcode, which is only known to the original owner. Even Apple itself cannot find the code.
This passcode system was introduced in 2014 soon after Edward Snowden’s leaks regarding NSA’s surveillance programs.
Furthermore, in the response to the court, Apple told the judge not to urge them to comply with the Department of Justice request. Though, they can access the data on that particular seized device, as this is one of the 10 percent devices that still uses old operating systems:
“Forcing Apple to extract the data, in this case, absent clear legal authority to do so, could threaten the trust between Apple and its customers and substantially tarnish the Apple brand,” Apple’s lawyers wrote and reported by Reuters.
The Judge Orenstein, earlier this month, ordered Apple to provide a response on whether it is technically feasible to stop encryption and can they oblige to the requests from Department of Justice?
A full hearing on this matter will be on Friday.
The case in which court wants Apple support is an execution of a search warrant issued by the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 15-mc-01902.
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