Latest news with #TechnicalCapabilityNotice
Forbes
08-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Court Rejects UK Attempt To Have Apple Encryption Case Held In Secret
Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images A U.K. court has ruled that the Home Office can't, as it had hoped, keep a hearing on backdoor access to Apple's encrypted cloud data under wraps. Earlier this year, the government used provisions of the Investigatory Powers Act to order the firm to give the security services blanket access to all users' end-to-end encrypted files, rather than just those for specific accounts. Via a Technical Capability Notice, it wants access to iPhone backups secured by Apple's Advanced Data Protection system - not just those of U.K. customers, but of international users too. Apple removed the opt-in Advanced Data Protection feature in the U.K. in February, but responded by launching legal proceedings against the government soon after, with the case to be heard by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. But the government said the proceedings should be kept secret, with not even the "bare details" made public, thanks to national security concerns. However, in a ruling, the tribunal has now rejected the government's request. "It would have been a truly extraordinary step to conduct a hearing entirely in secret without any public revelation of the fact that a hearing was taking place," the judges wrote. "For the reasons that are set out in our private judgement, 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." They said it might be possible for some or all future hearings to incorporate a public element, but that it wasn't possible to make a ruling on this at the current stage. Campaign groups Open Rights Group, Big Brother Watch and Index on Censorship made a submission to the court, arguing against the proceedings taking in place in secret, and they've now welcomed the court's decision. "This judgment is a very welcome step in the right direction, effectively chipping away at the pervasive climate of secrecy surrounding the Investigatory Powers Tribunal's consideration of the Apple case," said Rebecca Vincent, interim director of Big Brother Watch. "The Home Office's order to break encryption represents a massive attack on the privacy rights of millions of British Apple users, which is a matter of significant public interest and must not be considered behind closed doors." The case even led to transatlantic tensions, with U.S. director of national intelligence Tulsi Gababrd expressing "grave concern" about the creation of a backdoor. It would, she said, be a "clear and egregious" violation of Americans' privacy and civil rights, as well as opening up a serious security vulnerability. "This is bigger than the UK and Apple. The court's judgment will have implications for the privacy and security of millions of people around the world," said Jim Killock, executive director of Open Rights Group. "Such an important decision cannot be made behind closed doors, and we welcome the IPT's decision to bring parts of the hearing into the open so that there can be some public scrutiny of the UK government's decisions to attack technologies that keep us safe online."
Sky News
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
'Cloak of secrecy' over Apple and Home Office showdown must be removed, US politicians tell tribunal
A 'cloak of secrecy' created by the UK in its encryption showdown with Apple must be removed, according to a cross-party group of politicians in America. The group of Democrat and Republican senators and representatives has written to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) ahead of a hearing in secret tomorrow. It has been reported that this is the case in which Apple is appealing against a Home Office order to weaken its encryption. This order was made in the form of a Technical Capability Notice (TCN) under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. The law prevents Apple from discussing even the existence of such an order. Rather than comply with the order, it appears Apple pulled the relevant product from its service in the UK. The group of American politicians say UK law has prevented Apple telling the US Congress about the existence of any TCNs. They wrote: "We write to request the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) remove the cloak of secrecy related to notices given to American technology companies by the United Kingdom, which infringes on free speech and privacy, undermines important United States Congress and UK parliamentary oversight, harms national security, and ultimately, undermines the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom." Sky News revealed earlier that UK politicians are calling for the tribunal to be held in public. The letter from the US was signed by Democrat senators Ron Wyden, and Alex Padilla, as well as Republican representatives Andy Biggs and Warren Davidson, and Democrat representative Zoe Lofgren. In the letter, it is mentioned that US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has called the UK's actions "a clear and egregious violation of Americans' privacy and civil liberties", and that President Donald Trump raised it with Sir Keir Starmer and likened it to something the Chinese government would do. 2:08 From an American angle, the crux of the letter is the block that UK law places on American companies responding to the US Congress. The authors write: "By attempting to gag US companies and prohibit them from answering questions from Congress, the UK is both violating the free speech rights of US companies and impairing Congress's power and duty to conduct oversight on matters of national security. "The first amendment to the US Constitution guarantees Americans, including US companies, 'the right to petition the government for redress of grievances'. "This rule extends to communications with Congress and responses to Congressional oversight requests for information." The letter says Apple and Google have both told Congress that if they had received a TCN, they would not be able to discuss it. It goes on to state that, due to the "significant technical complexity of this issue" and the national security importance of encryption, "it is imperative that the UK's technical demands of Apple - and of any other US companies - be subjected to robust, public analysis and debate by cybersecurity experts".
Sky News
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Apple vs Home Office encryption court battle must be held in public, say MPs
Any court showdown between Apple and the Home Office over customer data must be held in public, MPs have demanded. It comes after the tech giant announced last month that it would no longer offer UK customers its most advanced, end-to-end security encryption feature for cloud data storage following a row with the government. The dispute was sparked when ministers reportedly decided to issue Apple with a Technical Capability Notice (TCN) demanding the right to see the user data. Legally, neither of the parties can publicly confirm the existence of the order. However, ComputerWeekly and others have reported that Apple has launched an appeal against the TCN, with an initial hearing set to be heard on Friday before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal at the High Court in London. A court listing document shows a behind-closed-doors application is due to be held before Lord Justice Singh and Mr Justice Johnson. Veteran Tory MP and civil rights campaigner Sir David Davis told Sky News: "If the Home Office wants to have effectively unfettered access to the private data of the (innocent) general public, they should explain their case in front of the public." Also speaking to Sky News, Liberal Democrat technology spokesperson Victoria Collins said: "The move by the government endangers people here in the UK and sets a dangerous precedent for authoritarian regimes across the globe... "I'm proud to add my name to the call for the hearing on this crucial issue to be open to the public. People deserve to know what's happening to their private personal information." Reform UK chief whip Lee Anderson said: "If the government wishes to pry on its people, they can make that claim in public. This now puts the security and privacy of the British people at risk. "The government should have as little involvement in our personal lives as possible. Not in our tweets, not in our text messages, and certainly not with full access to our phones." 1:18 Prior to its removal in the UK, Apple 's Advanced Data Protection service allowed users the ability to encrypt their data in such a way that no one, not even the tech company, would be able to access it. Critics fear the use of end-to-end encryption – where third-party access is impossible – could help criminals like paedophiles hide their activity from authorities. However, providing access to encrypted data, whether to a government or a company, provides potential pathways for third parties such as hackers to access information. Successive governments have said they want to restrict the use of the function. Apple has never commented on the TCN, but said in a previous statement: "Enhancing the security of cloud storage with end-to-end encryption is more urgent than ever before. "Apple remains committed to offering our users the highest level of security for their personal data and are hopeful that we will be able to do so in the future in the United Kingdom. "As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will."
