GOOGLE AND APPLE call for Obama to protect users

Global corporations and security experts believe that the US president should resist the law enforcement authorities to gain access to user data. We agree with them more than 140 companies, as well as former members of the government, who also signed the letter sent to the White House. The message encryption is called a cornerstone of modern economic security of information.

Experts point out that the letter may be the last straw that tipped the scales in the battle for data encryption. One side of this confrontation, including Google and Apple, in favor of a mandatory defense of user information, arguing that the encryption is not only justified, but necessary. Law enforcement agencies, in particular, the head of the FBI’s James Komi claim that the encryption of data in the instant messaging applications such as Apple iMessage enables criminals to communicate with each other without fear of being discovered and found colluding.

iMessage for Komi and his minions is of particular interest. Apple provided the encryption of messages sent using the application, and provide a key to decrypt only the addressee. Thus, even if the police get a warrant for the provision of user information, Apple is not physically able to give them the opportunity to decrypt messages. These solutions are developed for Android; Note that iOS and Android uses a total of 96% of smartphones in the world, and it is about 1.2 billion devices.

The head of the FBI still insists that the law can not be denied in the equity, and points to the 1994 law on the rule of law, which prescribes the telephone companies to provide opportunities for law enforcement officials to wiretap conversations of potential criminals. However, to read in modern applications of a similar law does not exist.

The debate about the need for data encryption flared up after the scandal with Edward Snowden, a former CIA and NSA. In a September interview with Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, he said that his company – “a business that is not based on getting information about you,” and added that the producer “does not read your emails and messages iMessage». “If the government sends us the agenda on how to give your messages iMessage, we can not give them to them. Messages are encrypted, and we do not have the key [to decode them] “, – assured Cook.

The companies expect the government and personally from the President of the United States response to the letter. However, while the White House does not comment on the situation. Recall that in February in an interview Recode Obama expressed support for the strengthening of data encryption, though he noted that understands the requirements of the law enforcement system. In addition, he said that people who talk about the need to encrypt the data, also want to be protected from terrorism.