Apple had plans to encrypt all backups on iCloud, but had to remove them because the FBI prevented them

According to a Reuters report, under pressure from the FBI, Apple had to abandon the plan to encrypt all iPhone and iPad backups of users.

The reputation of protecting user data on Apple devices is inherited by having them stored right on the device, but their backups stored on iCloud are a completely different matter. The data block is encrypted to prevent attackers, but Apple holds the encryption key to decompress them and share it with the police and the government whenever there is a legal request.

But in 2018, Apple was supposed to have plans to close this gap by applying end-to-end encryption to these iCloud backups, just like the security on their devices – but the plan doesn’t. ever done. A Reuters source said the iPhone manufacturer had to cancel the plan after talking to the FBI about the issue.

A former Apple employee told Reuters: ” This legal body has destroyed it, for reasons you can imagine .”

The source said the decision was influenced by the long legal battle between Apple and the FBI about the iPhone belonging to one of the gunmen in san Bernardino. After this legal battle, despite resolutely not installing backdoors on their devices, Apple did not want to “provoke” the FBI any more by encrypting all of its iCloud backups.

During meetings with the FBI, the agency officials told Apple that the plan would adversely affect their investigations. The FBI and law enforcement agencies regularly ask Apple to decrypt iCloud data for them, and in the first half of 2019, they requested access to thousands of different accounts. Apple says it has complied with 90% of those requests.

A former FBI official, who was not involved in those meetings, told Reuters that Apple had won against the agency. ” That’s because Apple was so persuasive. In addition to the public debate surrounding the San Bernardino case, Apple has always been in harmony with the federal government .”

In addition, according to a former Apple employee, there are other reasons why Apple abandoned plans to encrypt these data backups. For example, Apple is concerned that it could cause inconvenience as this tight encryption will make more and more users unable to access their own data in case they forget the key code. So in the end ” cannot know exactly why Apple rejected this plan .”

The Reuters report came at a time when Apple and law enforcement agencies were facing each other, when the FBI requested access to the gunman’s phone at Pensacola Naval Base in late December. .

After the FBI’s request was not met, the Justice Department and U.S. President Donald Trump both attacked the company and asked Apple to unlock the devices. ” We are helping Apple all the time on COMMERCE and a lot of other issues, but they still refuse to unlock the phones of killers, drug dealers and other violent criminals .” Mr. Trump reminded Apple of his gratitude in a recent tweet.

Refer to The Verge