Latest news with #InvestigatoryPowersActof2016
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK court reveals Apple's fight against government order for backdoor access to encrypted cloud data
LONDON (AP) — Apple is fighting a British government order for the iPhone maker to provide so-called backdoor access to its encrypted cloud storage service, a U.K. court confirmed on Monday. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal revealed the legal battle when it rejected a bid by Britain's Home Office to have the case heard in private. Apple had said in February that it would stop offering its end-to-end encryption feature for British users after the government reportedly issued the demand, which raised fears of electronic spying by national security officials. British media, citing unnamed sources, later reported that Apple was appealing the order but neither the company nor the British government have commented on the dispute. The tribunal dismissed the Home Office's argument that the case should be held in secret, saying "bare details" such as the existence of the case and identities of the parties involved could be disclosed. 'We do not accept that the revelation of the bare details of the case would be damaging to the public interest or prejudicial to national security," two judges said, according to a summary of the ruling posted online. British media organizations and civil liberty groups had asked the tribunal not to hold the case behind closed doors. Apple declined to comment and referred inquiries to an earlier statement saying it was withdrawing its security option for users in the United Kingdom. The feature, which has been available since 2022 and which users must opt in to, protects iCloud files, photos, notes and other data with end-to-end encryption when they're stored in the cloud. The dispute surfaced after the Washington Post reported, citing anonymous sources, that British security officials had issued the U.S. tech giant with a secret order requiring the creation of so-called backdoor access to view fully encrypted material. The newspaper said the British government served Apple with what's known as a 'technical capability notice' ordering it to provide access under a sweeping law called the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which has been dubbed the Snoopers' Charter. The Home Office said in a statement that it does not comment on legal proceedings. 'Nor do we comment on operational matters, including confirming or denying the existence of individual notices.' The dispute has caught the attention of U.S. officials. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard wrote to members of Congress saying she has serious concerns about demand because it would violate Americans' rights and raise concerns about a foreign government pressuring a U.S.-based technology company.
Associated Press
07-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
UK court reveals Apple's fight against government order for backdoor access to encrypted cloud data
LONDON (AP) — Apple is fighting a British government order for the iPhone maker to provide so-called backdoor access to its encrypted cloud storage service, a U.K. court confirmed on Monday. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal revealed the legal battle when it rejected a bid by Britain's Home Office to have the case heard in private. Apple had said in February that it would stop offering its end-to-end encryption feature for British users after the government reportedly issued the demand, which raised fears of electronic spying by national security officials. British media, citing unnamed sources, later reported that Apple was appealing the order but neither the company nor the British government have commented on the dispute. The tribunal dismissed the Home Office's argument that the case should be held in secret, saying 'bare details' such as the existence of the case and identities of the parties involved could be disclosed. 'We do not accept that the revelation of the bare details of the case would be damaging to the public interest or prejudicial to national security,' two judges said, according to a summary of the ruling posted online. British media organizations and civil liberty groups had asked the tribunal not to hold the case behind closed doors. Apple declined to comment and referred inquiries to an earlier statement saying it was withdrawing its security option for users in the United Kingdom. The feature, which has been available since 2022 and which users must opt in to, protects iCloud files, photos, notes and other data with end-to-end encryption when they're stored in the cloud. The dispute surfaced after the Washington Post reported, citing anonymous sources, that British security officials had issued the U.S. tech giant with a secret order requiring the creation of so-called backdoor access to view fully encrypted material. The newspaper said the British government served Apple with what's known as a 'technical capability notice' ordering it to provide access under a sweeping law called the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which has been dubbed the Snoopers' Charter. The Home Office said in a statement that it does not comment on legal proceedings. 'Nor do we comment on operational matters, including confirming or denying the existence of individual notices.'
New York Times
21-02-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Under Government Pressure, Apple Pulls Security Feature in Britain
Two years after Apple introduced an encrypted storage feature for iPhone users, the company is pulling those security protections in Britain rather than comply with a government request that it create a tool to give law enforcement organizations access to customers' cloud data. Starting on Friday, iPhone users in Britain will begin seeing a message on their phones saying Apple can no longer offer its Advanced Data Protection feature. The capability allowed users to encrypt almost all of their iCloud data, making messages, notes, photos and iPhone backups indecipherable, even when the information was stored in cloud computing centers. Apple is removing the feature after the British government demanded the company create a back door that would allow intelligence agencies and law enforcement officials to retrieve iPhone user data from data centers around the world, according to two people familiar with the request, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the British government's demand. The government request came in a secret order early this year, after Britain amended its Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which allows it to compel companies to turn over data and communications to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Last year, Apple protested the amendments in a submission to Parliament, saying it could give the British government power to issue secret orders to break encryption services and create a back door into software products. By eliminating the feature, Apple hopes that the British government will drop its request that it create a back door to users' cloud data, the people said. But there is a chance that the British government could continue to press for that access, arguing that people who might use the service overseas pose a threat to British interest. 'We are gravely disappointed,' Fred Sainz, an Apple spokesman, said in a statement. He said Advanced Data Protection had offered British customers protection against hacks and security breaches. 'As we have said many times before, we have never built a back door or master key to any of our products or services, and we never will,' Mr. Sainz added. The British Home Office didn't immediately have a statement. The Washington Post previously reported on the British government's request. Apple's elimination of Advanced Data Protection turns back the clock on the amount of iPhone users' data that is accessible to the British authorities. Before its introduction, Apple had refused to assist law enforcement in unlocking iPhones, but it fulfilled requests for iCloud backups that included unencrypted messages and photographs. The gap in Apple's encryption in data centers made it possible for law enforcement to obtain confidential messages in high-profile cases. In the United States, law enforcement officials were able to request the iCloud backup of Paul Manafort, chairman of President Trump's 2016 campaign. The request gave them access to Mr. Manafort's WhatsApp messages, which were used to build a case against him. For years, Apple resisted fully encrypting iCloud data because it wanted to make it easier for customers to retrieve their information if they were locked out of their accounts. But as data breaches around the world increased, the company moved to expand its encryption offerings in 2022 with Advanced Data Protection. The feature is optional and must be turned on by users. The clash between Apple and the British government is reminiscent of the fight the company had with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2016 over access to an iPhone used by an attacker who had killed 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif. The F.B.I. wanted Apple to unlock the attacker's iPhone, but Apple refused. The government eventually gained access with help from a hacking firm. In the years since, Apple has marketed its devices as more private than competitors, promising that what is on an iPhone stays on an iPhone. The company aired a commercial last year showing surveillance cameras, which are common on British streets, flying around and looking over people's shoulders as they look at their phones. When iPhone users open their Safari browser, the cameras explode. Views on encryption have shifted across the U.S. government after a recent sophisticated breach of American telecommunications. During last year's election, a hacking operation linked to the Chinese government by a group called Salt Typhoon targeted the devices of Mr. Trump and JD Vance, his running mate. Afterward, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency urged smartphone users to use encrypted communication systems. 'Encryption is the glue and mortar that holds the bricks of our digital lives together,' said Joseph Lorenzo Hall, a distinguished technologist at the Internet Society, a nonprofit that advocates the infrastructure of the internet. 'This would lead to not only collapses but catastrophic collapses.'
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Apple drops encryption feature for UK users after government reportedly demanded backdoor access
LONDON (AP) — Apple said Friday it will stop offering an advanced data security option for British users after the government reportedly demanded that the company provide backdoor access for any data those users have stored in the cloud. The iPhone maker said its Advanced Data Protection encryption feature is no longer available for new users in the United Kingdom and will eventually be disabled for existing users. Advanced Data Protection, which Apple started rolling out at the end of 2022, is an opt-in feature that protects iCloud files, photos, notes and other data with end-to-end encryption when they're stored in the cloud. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. British security officials demanded in a secret order that the U.S. tech giant create so-called backdoor access so that they could view fully encrypted material, The Washington Post reported earlier this month, citing anonymous sources. Apple 'can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection' in the U.K., the company said in a statement. 'We are gravely disappointed that the protections provided by ADP will not be available to our customers in the UK given the continuing rise of data breaches and other threats to customer privacy,' Apple said, without referring to the government demand. The Washington Post report said the British government served Apple with what's known as a 'technical capability notice" ordering it to provide the access under a sweeping law called the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which has been dubbed the snoopers' charter. The law officially gives British spies the ability to hack into devices and harvest vast amounts of bulk online data, much of it from outside the U.K. It contains provisions to compel companies to remove encryption to allow for electronic eavesdropping, while making it a criminal offense to reveal that the government has issued such demands. 'We do not comment on operational matters, including for example confirming or denying the existence of any such notices," the U.K. Home Office said in a brief statement. Apple did not reveal how many users in Britain have been using Advanced Data Protection. It said the feature would still be available to users in the rest of the world. Some types of data will still be end-to-end encrypted in the U.K. by default, Apple said, including passwords on the iCloud Keychain, information on the Health app, and communications on services including iMessage and FaceTime. End-to-end encryption means that messages are scrambled so that only the sender and recipient can see them. If anyone else intercepts the message, all they will see is a garble that can't be unscrambled without the key. The episode illustrates 'one of the fundamental flaws in government efforts to undermine encryption," said Mike Chapple, an IT professor at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. Faced with having to choose between security and complying with government regulations, companies like Apple tend to remove security features entirely, said Chapple, a former computer scientist at the National Security Agency. 'The net effect is reduced security for everyone. If other governments follow the UK's lead, we risk a future where strong encryption is functionally outlawed, which puts all of us at risk not just to government surveillance but also to eavesdropping by other bad actors.'
Observer
10-02-2025
- Business
- Observer
Apple told to open up users' encrypted cloud data
Britain has ordered Apple to give it unprecedentedly broad access to encrypted user data stored on Apple's data cloud, the Washington Post newspaper reported on Friday. The UK government's "technical capability notice" requires blanket access rather than merely assistance to access a specific account, the paper reported, citing unnamed sources. Governments routinely ask technology companies for user data to crack criminal cases, but Britain's sweeping demand, issued last month, has no known precedent in major democracies, the Post said. Britain's interior ministry declined to comment, and Apple did not respond to an enquiry outside regular business hours. Britain issued such notices under its Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which combined various existing powers on intercepting and obtaining communications. While security officials say data encryption features make it harder to catch criminals, tech companies have long guarded their users' right to privacy. At issue is an Apple feature that allows users of its iPhones, Macs, and other devices to ensure that only they — and not even Apple — can unlock data stored on its cloud. Most Apple users employ security features such as two-factor authentication, but a smaller number seeking these tougher safeguards enable Advanced Data Protection. As the UK was consulting last year on changes to the 2016 law that it said were needed to keep pace with evolving technologies and cyber threats, Apple told parliament that it would never build a "back door" into its products, and might therefore have to withdraw the advanced safeguard in Britain.
