Latest news with #Snoopers'Charter
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.'
Gulf Insider
09-02-2025
- Business
- Gulf Insider
Apple Ordered To Provide UK Gov't Access To All User Data On The Cloud
The Washington Post reported Friday that the United Kingdom's deep state has demanded that Apple create a back door for them to retrieve all the content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud—what would be an unprecedented erosion of online privacy and civil liberties. Citing anonymous sources, the Post reported that the British government's undisclosed order was issued last month. It reportedly requires Apple to give officials blanket capability to view fully encrypted material. Typically, Apple has assisted authorities on a case-by-case basis—such as helping the FBI access a terrorist's phone, for example. The Post noted that the access sought by the UK 'has no known precedent in major democracies.' 🚨WaPo published an EXTREMELY important story today about a secret UK order for Apple to provide it w/ total access to all user data on the cloud — an order that would implicate Americans and the entire Post rightly notes that the UK's order "has no known precedent in… — Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) February 7, 2025 According to the Post , the UK's order was made pursuant to the sweeping U.K. Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which authorizes law enforcement to compel assistance from companies to access user data. 'The law, known by critics as the Snoopers' Charter, makes it a criminal offense to reveal that the government has even made such a demand,' the Post reported. 'Apple can appeal the U.K. capability notice to a secret technical panel, which would consider arguments about the expense of the requirement, and to a judge who would weigh whether the request was in proportion to the government's needs. But the law does not permit Apple to delay complying during an appeal.' An Apple spokesman reportedly declined to comment. The Post reported that Apple is likely to stop offering encrypted storage in the UK. 'Yet that concession would not fulfill the U.K. demand for backdoor access to the service in other countries, including the United States,' the newspaper added. Western countries, including the U.S., have been pushing for total access to online user data for years. In March 2021, for example, former FBI Director Chris Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee that encryption was stifling his agents from investigating domestic extremism. According to Wray and other law enforcers, tech companies should be able to build 'backdoors' into their encryption that preserves privacy, while allowing for access when necessary. That, they say, strikes the proper balance between data security and national security. However, numerous tech experts, civil libertarians, and others say that it's impossible to build a backdoor that can't be exploited by hackers. They also say that by banning encryption, the United States would be following in the footsteps of authoritarian countries such as China, which blocked the encrypted messaging app Signal. 'It is important to understand that any kind of back door (or front door) access for the 'good guys' can also be exploited by the 'bad guys,'' the pro-industry Information Technology & Innovation Foundation stated in a July 2020 report. 'For example, key escrow systems would introduce new attack vectors that could allow attackers to gain access to encrypted information, such as by compromising the system that maintains copies of the keys.'
Russia Today
07-02-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
UK demands Apple allow spying on users worldwide
The UK government has issued a 'technical capability notice' to Apple, compelling the tech giant to create a backdoor to its encrypted iCloud service, the Washington Post reported on Friday. The move would enable UK law enforcement and security agencies to access encrypted data stored by Apple users worldwide, according to the newspaper. The UK's Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), referred to by critics as the 'Snoopers' Charter,' grants authorities the power to mandate that tech companies permit access to users' data for investigative purposes. It also makes it a criminal offense to reveal that the government has made such a demand. The recent notice requires Apple to provide a means for decrypting user data. It is currently protected by end-to-end encryption, ensuring that only users can access their information. Creating such backdoors could weaken overall security and set a dangerous precedent, according to Daniel Castro, vice-president of the US-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. In a statement on Friday, he has described the UK's move as an 'unjustified over-reach that threatens the security and privacy of individuals and businesses around the world.' READ MORE: EU mulls expanding digital surveillance over every citizen – media Last March, in a submission to the a parliamentary committee, Apple expressed concern that the IPA could be used to force companies to 'break encryption by inserting backdoors into their software products.' Apple asserted that it 'would never build a backdoor' and would rather withdraw 'critical safety features' from the UK market affecting the security of British users' data. Ross McKenzie, a data protection partner at law firm Addleshaw Goddard, told the Guardian that the UK order could lead to a clash with the EU, potentially affecting agreements that allow the free flow of personal data between the UK and Europe. UK security officials argue that encryption can hinder efforts to combat crime and terrorism. 'Maintaining proportionate, lawful access to such communications in the face of ever-more prevalent encryption is sometimes our only means of detecting and understanding these threats,' Ken McCallum, head of the UK's domestic intelligence agency MI5, stated last October. He believes that 'privacy and exceptional lawful access can coexist if absolutist positions are avoided.' The UK Home Office has declined to confirm or deny the existence of the notice, stating, 'We do not comment on operational matters,' according to The Guardian. READ MORE: Apple reveals which diplomats were hacked by Pegasus Apple has long defended the encryption of its operating systems, notably challenging the FBI in court in 2016 over a demand for a 'backdoor' to access the iPhone of a suspect in the San Bernardino, California, terrorist attack. In legal filings, Apple argued that the US government was requesting something it did not possess and that creating such a tool would be 'too dangerous.' The FBI eventually unlocked the phone using an Israeli spy tool, though it reportedly found nothing of value. Later revelations showed that other Israeli spyware, called Pegasus, had been used to hack tens of thousands of iPhones worldwide, targeting journalists, dissidents, and even heads of state.
The National
07-02-2025
- Business
- The National
UK orders Apple to grant it access to worldwide users' cloud data, report says
The British government has ordered Apple to give it access to all content that users worldwide upload to the cloud, including their encrypted data, it was reported on Friday. The move is likely to provoke fury from the US tech industry, which has already accused the UK of Orwellian practices in policing online content. The Washington Post said the Home Office issued the order last month under the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which enables authorities to compel assistance from companies when it needs to collect evidence. The law is also known as the 'Snoopers' Charter' and makes it a criminal offence for a company to even reveal that the government has made a request, the Post reported. An Apple spokesman declined to comment to the newspaper. For years, Apple has promoted the privacy settings it provides its users as standard, as well as offering users an additional, opt-in, Advanced Data Protection tool to fully encrypt a wider range of their data in its iCloud service. The company has frequently said it regards privacy as a 'fundamental human right' and says its system means no one else can access a user's data, not even Apple itself. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Labour Party are in a spat with X owner Elon Musk, the world's richest man who has an influential role in US President Donald's Trump administration, raising concerns about possible implications for transatlantic relations. The dispute includes claims by Mr Musk that the British government was clamping down on free speech around the time of last summer's riots and that it had failed to prosecute grooming gangs. According to the Post report, sources said Apple may choose to stop offering encrypted storage in the UK rather than break its security pledges to users. But the report warned this would not fulfil the government's demand for broad access in other countries, as the Investigatory Powers Act applies globally to any firm with a UK market, even if they are not based in the country. Under the law, Apple can appeal against the UK's order, but cannot delay its application even during the appeal process. Police and security services around the world have pushed for more access to encrypted communications in recent years, warning that encryption allows criminals such as terrorists and child abusers to more easily hide and hampers efforts to catch them. In response, tech firms have argued that users have a right to privacy and that any backdoors into software created for intelligence and security services could also be exploited by criminals or authoritarian regimes. Rebecca Vincent, interim director of privacy at civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, described the development as 'an unprecedented attack on privacy rights that has no place in any democracy'. 'Big Brother Watch has been ringing alarm bells about the possibility of precisely this scenario since the adoption of the Investigatory Powers Bill in 2016,' she said, PA news agency reported. 'We all want the [UK] government to be able to effectively tackle crime and terrorism, but breaking encryption will not make us safer.'
