Is The CIA Working To Crack Apple iPhone And iPad Encryption Security?
Thanks to the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, we know that the United States government has in place a sophisticated and all-encompassing spying program, and as time goes on, additional details leak out that underscore how little privacy we truly have. Whether it's intercepting Skype communications or tampering with hard drives, the concept of privacy is fast becoming an illusion. So, would it really be surprising to find out that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been working for years to exploit Apple's iPhone and iPad devices?
It's true, according to The Intercept, which claims to have obtained "top-secret documents." Assuming they're real, the documents point to an annual meeting of the minds called the "Jamboree" in which attendees consisting mostly of security researchers reveal their latest methods and strategies for exploiting security flaws in common electronics.
These conferences have supposedly been talking place for about a decade starting with a CIA-sponsored meeting that took place the year before Apple released its first iPhone. Since the launch of the iPhone, and subsequently the iPad, the CIA and security researchers have been working to crack the encryption Apple uses, which would ultimately give them access to data stored on hundreds of millions of devices.
It goes deeper than that. The documents also suggest that security researchers have already created a tweaked version of Apple's proprietary software development tool called Xcode. This could allow them to implement backdoors into apps and programs created by the tool. It could also allow them to steal passwords, snag messages, and more.
If there is anything to be surprised about here, it's that the CIA and friends don't already have access to this stuff.
It's true, according to The Intercept, which claims to have obtained "top-secret documents." Assuming they're real, the documents point to an annual meeting of the minds called the "Jamboree" in which attendees consisting mostly of security researchers reveal their latest methods and strategies for exploiting security flaws in common electronics.
These conferences have supposedly been talking place for about a decade starting with a CIA-sponsored meeting that took place the year before Apple released its first iPhone. Since the launch of the iPhone, and subsequently the iPad, the CIA and security researchers have been working to crack the encryption Apple uses, which would ultimately give them access to data stored on hundreds of millions of devices.
It goes deeper than that. The documents also suggest that security researchers have already created a tweaked version of Apple's proprietary software development tool called Xcode. This could allow them to implement backdoors into apps and programs created by the tool. It could also allow them to steal passwords, snag messages, and more.
If there is anything to be surprised about here, it's that the CIA and friends don't already have access to this stuff.
