by Jason Snell

February 17, 2016 4:57 PM PT

The Secure Enclave is no protection from a court order

Matthew Panzarino at TechCrunch has more information about the FBI’s request of Apple:

There has been some chatter about whether these kinds of changes would even be possible with Apple’s newer devices. Those devices come equipped with Apple’s proprietary Secure Enclave, a portion of the core processing chip where private encryption keys are stored and used to secure data and to enable features like TouchID. Apple says that the things that the FBI is asking for are also possible on newer devices with the Secure Enclave. The technical solutions to the asks would be different (no specifics were provided) than they are on the iPhone 5c (and other older iPhones), but not impossible.

In other words, while it’s true that the Secure Enclave on the iPhone 5s and iPhone 6/6s models would prevent the exploit that’s being requested for the iPhone 5c, the FBI could request that Apple do the same on a phone with the Secure Enclave, and it’s technically possible for Apple to meet that request. (Presumably by updating the software that controls the Secure Enclave to change how it behaves.)

Panzarino also has an interesting bit of conjecture:

I do not believe that will long be the case. Apple is probably working double time to lock it down even tighter.

This is fascinating. Is Apple racing to make its systems even more impenetrable so that the government can’t compel Apple to modify them after the fact?

To take it a step farther, what would happen if Apple was forced to modify iOS more broadly to support government snooping? Would it change how it handles OS upgrades, giving customers the opportunity to downgrade their devices? Would new iOS devices be able to downgrade to earlier, more secure versions?

And, not to get more dystopian on you, but what happens if the day comes to pass that all installations of Android and iOS are known to be compromised? Do we all just shrug and move on with life, knowing that none of the data on our phones is private?

“I don’t have anything to hide” is a poor argument against the formation of a state surveillance apparatus.

by Jason Snell

February 17, 2016 11:48 AM PT

Rich Mogull on Apple’s fight with the FBI

Over at Macworld, security expert Rich Mogull weighs in on the Apple-FBI situation:

Make no mistake: This is unprecedented, and the situation was deliberately engineered by the FBI and Department of Justice to force a showdown that could define limits our civil rights for generations to come. This is an issue with far-reaching implications well beyond a single phone, a single case, or even Apple itself.

As a career security professional, this case has chilling implications.

Rich’s argument is that the FBI and Department of Justice have engineered this case in order to get public opinion on their side and give them a foothold to push forward in forcing technology companies to assist the government in gaining access to private information. That law-enforcement agencies want to push into these areas is nothing new; it’s up to the other parts of government to restrain them. That will require some technical understanding and, more importantly, some backbone.

by Dan Moren

February 17, 2016 10:58 AM PT

Apple versus the FBI

Ben Thompson has a great summation of the dispute between Apple and the FBI:

A master key, contrary to conventional wisdom, is not guessable, but it can be stolen; worse, if it is stolen, no one would ever know. It would be a silent failure allowing whoever captured it to break into any device secured by the algorithm in question without those relying on it knowing anything was amiss. I can’t stress enough what a problem this is: World War II, especially in the Pacific, turned on this sort of silent cryptographic failure. And, given the sheer number of law enforcement officials that would want their hands on this key, it landing in the wrong hands would be a matter of when, not if.

Thompson worries that Cook has picked the wrong battle–i.e., that it shouldn’t be about the circumvention on this particular phone. That’s in part because the phone in question–an iPhone 5c–lacks security protections present in the 5s and later; so the workaround the FBI is requesting isn’t even possible on newer models.

But I’m sure there are also millions of 5c and earlier iPhones out there that would potentially be subject to such procedures, which is likely one reason that Apple and Cook have taken a stand here: it’s aiming to protect all of its customers, not just some of them.

by Dan Moren

February 17, 2016 5:02 AM PT

Tim Cook: Government requirement for a backdoor is an “overreach”

Tim Cook takes a page from the Steve Jobs playbook, posting an open letter on Apple’s site about encryption:

In today’s digital world, the “key” to an encrypted system is a piece of information that unlocks the data, and it is only as secure as the protections around it. Once the information is known, or a way to bypass the code is revealed, the encryption can be defeated by anyone with that knowledge.

The government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that’s simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices. In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks – from restaurants and banks to stores and homes. No reasonable person would find that acceptable.

Apple has been, so far, steadfast in its fight against attempts by the government to mandate use of a backdoor, for all the reasons that Cook specifies here. It’s frankly surprising to me that other technology companies haven’t likewise come forward, though perhaps they simply aren’t in the crosshairs yet.

As Cook says, the simple truth is that weaker encryption puts all of us at risk, and in no way prevents bad actors from using other easily available and equally impenetrable encryption software. Building a backdoor just makes it easier for criminals to get at our data.¹

by Dan Moren

February 16, 2016 1:02 PM PT

Dr. Dre series aims to “extend” Apple Music

Over at Re/code, Peter Kafka sheds a little more light on the Apple-produced Dr. Dre series first reported last week:

So, again: Is Apple really getting into the TV business? Yes. But also, not really.

The real answer is more modest: Apple has already been financing video content it uses to market Apple Music – “to extend Apple Music,” in the words of an insider. And it’s doing that with the Dre show. Full stop.

That makes a little more sense to me than the original story. Not that I can’t see Apple getting into in-house produced content, à la Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon–I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Cupertino made moves in that direction over the next few years. But it seems odd that the company would a) offer a scripted series for sale, rather than as part of a streaming service and b) that it would launch into this realm with a decidedly adult-themed series, and nothing else.

Services are big for Apple: the company made no bones about that when it released its results last quarter. If the Dre series is made available to Apple Music subscribers, well, custom content might be a way for Apple to attract more paying customers.

by Jason Snell

February 16, 2016 8:00 AM PT

Stephen Fry gives up on Twitter

Actor, writer and comedian Stephen Fry can’t take it anymore:

Let us grieve at what twitter has become. A stalking ground for the sanctimoniously self-righteous who love to second-guess, to leap to conclusions and be offended – worse, to be offended on behalf of others they do not even know. It’s as nasty and unwholesome a characteristic as can be imagined.

But Stephen, these foul people are a minority! Indeed they are. But I would contend that just one turd in a reservoir is enough to persuade one not to drink from it. 99.9% of the water may be excrement free, but that doesn’t help. With Twitter, for me at least, the the tipping point has been reached and the pollution of the service is now just too much.

I have loved Twitter for a long time and still use it a lot, but Fry is not wrong. Over the years it has gone from being a joy to use to being an increasingly unpleasant place. Most of the interactions I have with people I know now come in private Slack rooms, and Twitter increasingly feels more like a performance you have to gird yourself for. I don’t want to give it up because it is a fantastically good way to connect with people like the readers of this site, but it’s not as fun as it used to be.

I don’t know if Twitter itself can fix this, or if this is just the nature of the service they’ve created. But Fry’s experience echoes the ones I’ve heard from plenty of other people, not just my own.

by Dan Moren

February 16, 2016 7:18 AM PT

Mattel’s new 3D printer lets kids make toys

TechCrunch reports on toy-maker Mattel’s latest innovation:

At New York’s Toy Fair trade show over the weekend, Mattel unveiled its new, $300 3D Printer, the “ThingMaker,” which will allow children to print their own toys at home. The device works in conjunction with a 3D printing app developed in collaboration with Autodesk that offers a simple interface for designing items that can then come to life via Mattel’s ThingMaker as well as with other standard 3D printers already on the market.

As a kid, I would have killed for this. It’s like wishing for more wishes.

by Jason Snell

February 12, 2016 8:33 PM PT

John Gruber interviews Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi

John Gruber killed it on Daring Fireball this week, but the capper is this podcast interview with Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi:

Topics include: the new features in Apple’s upcoming OS releases (iOS 9.3 and tvOS 9.2); why Apple is expanding its public beta program for OS releases; iTunes’s monolithic design; how personally involved Eddy and Craig are in using, testing, and installing beta software; the sad decline of Duke’s men’s basketball team; and more.

Some scoops too, including: the weekly number of iTunes and App Store transactions, an updated Apple Music subscriber count, peak iMessage traffic per second, and the number of iCloud account holders.

I love Apple’s new approach, letting its executives talk more, show personality, answer questions, and appear on podcasts.

by Jason Snell

February 12, 2016 8:26 PM PT

Dr. Dre filming scripted TV series for Apple

In an exclusive for The Hollywood Reporter, Michael O’Connell and Lesley Goldberg report that Apple’s first scripted TV series is currently being filmed:

Multiple sources say [Dr. Dre] is starring in and executive producing his own six-episode vehicle, dubbed Vital Signs, and the production is being bankrolled by Apple. The series likely will be distributed via Apple Music, the company’s subscription streaming site, but it’s not clear if Apple TV, the iTunes store or other Apple platforms (or even a traditional television distributor) will be involved. Apple and a rep for Dre declined to comment.

There has been a lot of talk about Apple launching its own original television content, and I’ve been skeptical of Apple trying to be its own Netflix or HBO. But this makes a whole lot more sense, if it’s tied in directly to Apple Music. Just as Amazon Prime is a membership that gets you free two-day shipping and also a video streaming service, maybe Apple Music is a subscription music service that also gives you access to original TV shows about music as well as concert films.