San Bernardino
It seems like a whole other lifetime, but it was only a little over four years ago. An employee of the San Bernardino health department and his wife attacked his work Christmas party. He was an American of Pakistani descent, she came over from Pakistan to be his wife. As we now know, their relationship was based on radical extremism. They spoke of jihad and martyrdom, before they were even married. Fourteen were murdered at the San Bernardino Inland Regional Center. The two terrorists died in a shootout with police hours later.
It was in the post-tragedy investigation that the FBI ran into a snag. They had the IPhone of the shooter, actually issued to him by the Health Department. They were unable to get into it; he coded the phone locked. Apple phones allow for ten attempts to “unlock” a phone, and then they automatically erase all data. The FBI asked Apple Inc. to aid in the investigation. They wanted them to create a new version of the IPhone operating system that they could download onto the phone and then open it.
Protecting Terrorists
Apple refused. Their policy was to never undermine their own phone security protocols. The Department of Justice filed suit against Apple, and the anticipated outcome would have significant legal repercussions. Could the US Government force a company to “hack” its own phone? But just months later, the Department dropped the suit. They found some hackers who were able to break into the phone by allowing unlimited coding attempts. They then entered combinations until they found the code, and no longer needed Apple’s help.
I remember thinking at the time that Apple was being beyond stubborn. This was a terrorist attack on Americans, in America, and like it or not, their phone was involved. How could they deny what seemed like a very reasonable request by the FBI? How could they align themselves with murderers, terrorists?
Lame Excuse
At the time, Apple’s excuses seemed pretty lame. We are a worldwide company, they said, and if we did this for the government of the United States, what would other governments in the world ask of us? While the US might be “right” this time, what about the government of Russia, or Turkey, or one of Apple’s biggest commercial markets, China? It Apple exploits its own vulnerabilities, what security can they offer their buyers from future, less reasonable intrusions?
But the phone was owned by the San Bernardino Health Department, not Syed Farook. Doesn’t the phone owner have the “right” to ask for help? And Apple is an American company, headquartered in the same state of California, in Cupertino near San Jose. Shouldn’t American companies help protect America against terrorism?
Of course, Apple could always reset the phone. But the process would erase the information contained in it, defeating the FBI’s purpose. And Apple actually went a step further. Their next version of the IPhone operating system fixed the flaw the hackers found.
Today’s World
It’s four years later. Today IPhones can still be coded. They can also be set to open with fingerprints, or even facial recognition. What that might mean to terrorists or other criminals: stick to the codes to hide your data. Your “cold, dead thumbprint” would still be available, as would your face.
But there is another consideration to think about today. The Justice Department of Attorney General William Barr and his predecessors under the Trump Administration, seems willing to be cavalier with personal data. For example, the personal messages of Peter Strzok and Lisa Page were on government phones, but still were personal messages. They were released by the Justice Department, because they were already leaked to Congressional investigators. In short, the Department couldn’t control the information.
And for my friends who think the Strzok-Page messages revealed a vast conspiracy to bring down the Trump Administration, we now know that Justice also had as many messages by employees that were anti-Clinton. Those weren’t released until the Inspector General’s report a couple of months ago. If you want conspiracies, you can have them both ways.
Tipping the Scales
The Department of Justice today, is investigating those who found Russian connections to the Trump Campaign, led by Connecticut US Attorney John Durham. This week, they announced investigations into the Russian-based Ukrainian nonsense, led by the US Attorney from Pittsburgh, Scott Brady. The Department is choosing a side. An agency that traditionally has modeled the scales held by “blind justice” has taken the blindfold off, and placed its thumb on the scales.
They are doing President Trump’s bidding, investigating his enemies, and using the full force of American government to support his candidacy.
So, if Justice isn’t going to protect us, maybe it is up to Apple.
