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Published in Mobiles

Apple already made cops an iOS backdoor

by on18 February 2016


It is just not what you think

The Fruity cargo cult Apple is getting a pat on the back from privacy people for its stand against helping the US cops with their inquiries, however what is being missed from the story is that outfit already allows coppers access to its iOS operating system.

A "feature" in Apple’s latest iPhones means that coppers with the perp’s finger-print automatically get access to the iPhone 6 and up. All they have to do is make a silcon copy of the fingerprint and they are in.

In fact this stage managed fight, with all its harping on about privacy is just a manipulation of the media which Apple loves. Apple’s fight with the US government would not have happened if the San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, whose phone coppers want to have a look at, had upgraded his iPhone like a good fanboy.

So when you hear how wonderful Apple is for making a stand against government snooping what it is really doing is refusing to provide access to legacy software which even it considers out-of-date. By providing a finger print scanner on its later phones Apple has provided full access to any iPhone by any arresting officer. All the autocratic regimes which Apple is claimed to protect its users will certainly have automatic access.

So if Apple does not really care about privacy, or protecting users from the cops what is this current crisis about? It is a bog standard PR move. Apple refusing to do what it is told and getting the world press behind it so that when it fails (no-one wins contempt of court cases) it will appear to be the victim of government oppression and seen as a champion of free speech.

What the court is asking is access to a single phone something that Apple could provide. As the numbers of old iPhone’s in the hands of criminals declines and every phone has a fingerprint scanner the police are not going to bother Jobs’ Mob any more.

The fingerprint thing is an issue in South Korea already where government workers were caught using silicon-made fingers to receive extra pay illegally for working night shifts. Fake fingerprints were also a feature of a real estate scam that was worth about $4.08 million. There are also incidences where people pass through immigration checkpoints by using fake fingerprints made with adhesives.The fact it is so easy to do and gives you full access.

Last modified on 18 February 2016
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