For months, a debate has been going back and forth between Apple and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This corporate heavyweight and government heavyweight aren’t backing down anytime soon.
It started several months ago. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the data of iPhone users will be shielded by strong encryption. The encryption will be so strong not even Apple can break in and interpret it. But FBI officials led by Director James Comey argue terrorists and criminals could use this shield to their advantage. The rhetoric intensified yesterday when it was discovered a San Bernardino shooter used an iPhone. A court ordered Apple to hack into the phone by disabling security measures. Apple has five days to legally challenge this order. If Apple does so, the debate will turn into one of the biggest legal boxing matches of our generation. And Apple is getting allies. Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent a series of tweets supporting Cook’s stand. Pichai tweeted forcing companies to enable hacking will compromise the privacy of innocent individuals. Then there is a coalition called Reform Government Surveillance. It’s made up of mega tech/computer corporations like Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo and AOL. They say companies shouldn’t be forced to build back doors to spy on their door.
For three years, the struggle between government agencies and tech companies has brewed. Remember when the Ed Snowden story broke, and people thought the Feds and tech companies were in cahoots??Now we know that isn’t the case. Yes, I side with the tech companies. Hacking into the tech companies of terrorists and criminals may sound good on paper. But they probably won’t stop there. What’s there to stop them from hacking innocent human beings? Plus, it does little good to break into the iPhone of a terrorists that is already dead. You can’t put dead people on trial. Plus, if government agencies do start hacking into other peoples’ iPhones, isn’t that going to make it easier for cyber criminals to do the same? They can easily look up how the Feds did it and imitate the steps themselves. Whose side are you on?