As you may know the FBI wants Apple to help the agency hack into the iPhone of the San Bernardino terrorist and Apple has refused to comply with the demand. The Americans are divided between those who want Apple to comply with the demand of the FBI and those who want Apple to stick to its ground. In a recent development, technology giants Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, Box and some other companies have decided to support Apple against the FBI. They have decided to support Apple in court, according to this buzz feed link. All these companies feel that the Federal bureau of investigation should not force Apple to hack into the iPhone of the San Bernardino terrorist no matter how critical it may prove for the future security of the country.
Most of them are filing court briefs in support of Apple.
One thing I still don’t understand is whether these companies are backing Apple just for the sake of putting up a joint front against a government agency (which might look quite glamorous to the customers) or this action really has some serious implications. I mean, what could be more important than nabbing future terrorist attacks even if it means an iPhone or any other device is hacked? Heck, if I believe my family will be safer if a terrorist’s iPhone can be hacked, I would certainly want the phone to be hacked, there won’t be a single doubt in my mind.
The logic being put up by the technology companies is that once one device is hacked, it will open a floodgate of such hacking operations. Agencies and companies will be approaching technology companies to hack into people’s devices for one reason or another.
Yes, this might happen and a definitive law must be laid out to handle such situations. When it comes to the choice between protecting a particular technology from being hacked and protecting lives of people, I think protecting lives of people comes first. Or maybe these technology companies feel that hacking into the phone of the San Bernardino terrorist isn’t going to help the law enforcement agency much. The logic that the encryption technology needs to be protected doesn’t hold much water.
What does Apple stand to lose if it fails to comply with the FBI’s demand? This Medium blog post from Fast Company explains exactly what Apple stands to lose for defying the FBI.
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