New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance wants the Trump administration to help create federal legislation requiring Apple and Google to remove default encryption from their smartphones.
The recommendation comes from the DA office’s second report on Smartphone Encryption and Public Safety, presented by Vance at the opening of the Manhattan DA’s new cyberlab. New York County is currently sitting on 423 iPhones it can’t break into, even with a warrant, so the DA’s office is pushing for change.
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Apple’s built-in encryption currently prevents anyone from accessing a phone’s data without the owner’s password. Vance called the situation an untenable arms race between private industry and law enforcement.
“Federal legislation is our only chance to lay these arms aside,” Vance said today.
Photo: New York County DA
His call echoes similar requests by the feds for a return to the way things were before October 2014, when Apple’s iOS 8 update shipped with default encryption in response to growing public concerns over government cybersnooping.
Feds maintain that an unlockable version of iOS never represented a privacy concern to citizens.
“Complying with judges’ warrants for smartphones never involved a government backdoor,” Vance said in his remarks. “It never meant that the government held a key to anybody’s phone. It never enabled access to real-time communications, and it never meant collecting bulk data on anyone.“
The New York County DA’s office says it’s been locked out of 34 percent of all Apple devices collected since October 2014, with a jump to about 42 percent over the past three months.
According to Vance’s office, 10 percent of the iPhones now sitting in the DA’s new 17,000-square-foot cyberlab are related to cases involving murder or attempted murder, with 9 percent related to sex crimes.
This issue became a national news story after the San Bernardino shooting, when federal investigators insisted they were unable to break into the shooters’ iPhone 5c without Apple’s help. Ultimately, the FBI was able to do just that.
It’s likely that under President-elect Donald Trump, such calls for de-encrypted consumer electronics will gain traction. In February, Trump called for a boycott on Apple products in the midst of the company’s refusal to build a special, unlockable version of iOS for the FBI.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/700796528844103680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The Manhattan DA’s new cyberlab will serve as a hub for investigators and analysts working on crimes that increasingly carry a digital component. As part of the symposium, Vance also announced the release of a free tool developed in partnership with the Global Cyber Alliance to combat phishing attacks.
Doug is a freelance writer covering technology here, there, and elsewhere.
36 responses to “New York district attorney calls for federal law to unlock seized iPhones”
Ha! Anybody here think Trump’s alt-right supporters are going to welcome the feds requiring decryptable smart phones?
They are too stupid to know what this means.
We Constitutionalist Conservatives are the ones defending your right to have secure encryption and protection against an all powerful central government who can look at anything they choose to look at. Are you so stupid you don’t realize that? It was not Constitutionalists who passed the laws that permitted violation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. It was Liberals, Progressives, Moderates and weak-kneed Pseudo Conservatives who are willing to give up their Rights for a bit of fleeting security. It is the stupid left wing that fails to think, except in lock-step, failing to examine why their ideas never seem to work.
Nope, it’s liberals who consistently support our privacy and encryption rights rights and conservatives who oppose them. Bernie Sanders voted against the Patriot Act, and he rejected the USA Freedom Act, arguing that it didn’t “go far enough in protecting our privacy rights.” He said in an interview “I worry that we are moving toward an Orwellian form of society, where Big Brother — whether in the corporate world, or the government — knows too much information about the private lives of innocent people.”
It was groups like the EFF, ACLU, and Amnesty International that supported Apple, itself a very liberal company, in its battle with the Trump-loving FBI.
By contrast, all of the GOP presidential candidates in the race as of February 19, 2016 voiced their support for the FBI’s position. Right-wing law and order groups including the the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, and the National Sheriffs’ Association filed a brief supporting the FBI.
Horse shit.. It was under Bush2 that this major horse shit got a boost. And frankly, I dont trust any of you. You claim liberty unless its liberty for others.
@DarthDisney:disqus Well put! The NRA is a great example of their “Constitutionalist Conservative” principles. When some white, southern redneck wants to carry a concealed handgun on a college campus, the NRA is behind him 100%. But when a black man is shot do death at a traffic stop after telling a cop that he has a gun and a concealed carry permit for it, the NRA remains silent.
And why should anyone be prevented from carrying a concealed weapon if properly licensed to do so anywhere else? There have been several well documented cases where active shooters have been stopped by licensed conceal carriers who have prevented the violence from going any further because they were able to fight back. Gun Free Zones are Killing Zones for these crazies who want to do the greatest amount of damage because they know that no one will be shooting back. “When seconds count, the police are minutes away.”
The fact is that in almost every case the people who do the shooting are left wing crazies, not “some white, southern red neck” conceal carry person as you incorrectly are attempting to imply. In fact the number of crimes committed by properly licensed conceal carry people approaches ZERO. . . If you really want to impact gun crimes, you should consider making it illegal for left-wing Democrats from owning firearms. That’s the way the statistics swing.
And, no, the NRA did notre
You wrote: “And why should anyone be prevented from carrying a concealed weapon if properly licensed to do so anywhere else?”
Because a property owner, including a college, has a right to limit what may be done on their property.
You wrote: “And, no, the NRA did not remain “silent” in that police shooting you refer to. ”
The NRA remained about the Falcon Heights shooting for more than a day and a half. When a statement was finally posted on the NRA Facebook page, the it obliquely referred to “reports from Minnesota.” It neither named Castile directly nor took a position on the shooting. Even many NRA members were disgusted with the slow, tepid response.
You wrote: “The fact is that in almost every case the people who do the shooting are left wing crazies…”
I guess you’re going to tell me that white supremacist Dylann Roof, who killed nine people and injured three at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C., was a liberal. Or maybe you think that white supremacist Wade Michael Page, who fatally shot six people at a Sikh temple was a “left wing crazy.” I’ve not met many left-wing white supremacists.
WOW! The NRA did not comment until day and a half later, while the facts were NOT KNOWN. . . but that is not the same as “remaining silent” which you stated. . . which you stated Implying that the NRA never made a statement at all. I also challenge you on your assertion the NRA did not name the parties involved. As an NRA Life Member, I see the reports they do make and they usually report the details of the incidents they make comments upon. You have your agenda and it is to denigrate those you disagree with, so you distort the facts with pulling facturds out of your rear end.
Now let’s discuss what part of “almost every case the people who do the shooting are left wing crazies” do you fail to comprehend? “Almost every” allows for a couple of exceptions. Nitpicking the exceptions does not invalidate the argument I made. However, Both of those shooters were, it was learned, not Republicans, but actually last registered as Democrats.
I would also point out to you that the KKK was a creature of the Democratic Party, not the Republicans and that more Republicans voted for both women’s suffrage and the 1964 Civil Rights Act than did Democrats. The Democrats talk a good line, but their policies have resulted in far more poverty and people in the Black neighborhoods because that is what they really want. They want a permanent underclass to continue voting for Democrats. I can find numerous quotations from people such as Lyndon Baines Johnson in which he so much as says so.
Stop repeating NRA propaganda. This shooting, shown in a lengthy video online, was some huge mystery about which the NRA could not comment. You don’t see the NRA taking a day and a half to condemn shootings of cops.
Headlines from mainstream news organizations:
“Dallas Shootings Underscore NRA Hypocrisy, Critics Say:
Critics point out the organization’s quick condolences to white victims in Dallas, and silence on deaths of black gun owners, this week.” U.S. News and World Report
“NRA criticized for silence on Philando Castile’s Falcon Heights shooting” The Washington Post
“NRA members: Why no statement for Philando Castile?” The Times-Picayune
“NRA’s offensive hypocrisy: When will the organization demand justice for black gun owners shot by police?” Salon
“Thousands voice outrage on social media after NRA remains silent on police officer shooting dead reported legal gun owner during traffic stop in Minnesota” The Daily Mail (UK)
“Gun rights for whites only: Is that the NRA’s agenda?” Orlando Sentinal
“NRA offers tepid comment on police shooting of Minnesota man”
Politico
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Now you’ve decided to give up on your liberal vs. conservative argument and pretend that anyone who ever was registered as a Democrat is automatically a liberal. Either you’re intentionally lying or you are ignorant.
I’ve seen those on the far right try to claim that Dylann Roof was a Democrat, but I’ve never seen any of them provide a shred of evidence to support that claim. Please cite your source.
But ignoring party and focusing on ideology, Dylann Roof’s own writings say “It was obvious that Zimmerman was in the right. But more importantly this prompted me to type in the words “black on White crime” into Google, and I have never been the same since that day. The first website I came to was the Council of Conservative Citizens. There were pages upon pages of these brutal black on White murders.” Sounds pretty right-wing to me.
Similarly right-wing were Wade Michael Page’s white supremacist and anti-immigrant views.
I’ve decided that we will accept that right-wing crazies are the “rule” and any counter examples you provide are “nitpicking the exceptions.” Wow, that technique of yours is a lot easier than mustering facts.
You wrote: “I would also point out to you that the KKK was a creature of the Democratic Party, not the Republicans and that more Republicans voted for both women’s suffrage and the 1964 Civil Rights Act than did Democrats.”
Carole Emberton, an associate professor of history at the University at Buffalo, wrote “The party lines of the 1860s/1870s are not the party lines of today.” She continued, “Although the names stayed the same, the platforms of the two parties reversed each other in the mid-20th century, due in large part to white ‘Dixiecrats’ flight out of the Democratic Party and into the Republican Party after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. By then, the Democratic Party had become the party of ‘reform,’ supporting a variety of ‘liberal’ causes, including civil rights, women’s rights, etc. whereas this had been the banner of the Republican Party in the nineteenth century.”
Nice try.
You really don’t know what you are talking about.
Sadly for you, I do.
I see that our favorite right wing Cult of Mac troll is back. How cute.
Did I say that George W. Bush was a Constitutional Conservative? No, I did not. He was a middle of the road moderate. You don’t know what you are talking about. You claim ALL of the GOP presidential candidates backed the FBI but did you check what Rand Paul’s position was? No, you did not.
There were many Constitutional Conservatives who supported Apple in its arguments in Court. I was one of them. Pay attention.
Suuuuuuure they are. lol. Yes, and conservatives are champions of civil rights, environmental policy, education, women and the poor.
his alt-right supporters are racist morons that probably can easily be sold on it as a national security concern. It will be sold as a way to monitor the Muslims, terrorists, mexicans and blacks. They’ll be all for it.
they need to contact that same group that charges $1 Mil to hack into iPhones.
That group has been bought by the Indian government.
They need to realize that either an iPhone is secure, or it is not. Encryption is either secure or it is not secure. You cannot have it both ways.
Once you require a back door into any secure device for anyone to use, it is no longer secure. That is just the way security works. You can no longer guarantee that device’s security. The backdoor will be breached. Just knowing it is there is enough for hackers to find it.
ha ha of course this was bound to happen, now that Trump has been elected, the retards are seeking a new opportunity to reopen a lost fight against encryption. Hopefully Trump will be smart enough not to support this once he has had time enough to think it through and been counselled by more technically sound advisors
Here we go again… my 2 cents
If you are ‘not guilty’ of a crime, you should want to co-operate. If you refuse, you should have a Samsung Note 7 taped to your head until you unlock your iPhone /s.
On this point, your 2 cents is not worth 2 cents. Guilty or innocent is •not• the issue. Privacy or no privacy is the issue. There are many, many reasons people wish to keep their information private, only the tiniest fraction of which is to hide a crime. Government, law enforcement and public records bear that out.
As for as for your flippant but violent idea of punishment for those who would “refuse to cooperate”, it puts you squarely in the torture-until-you-get-the-information-you-want camp. North Korea, Iraq, Syria, Russia, or fifty other countries ruled by dictators might be good places to visit in order to see how many wonderful freedoms you have here. Put down your phone and read a book now and then.
You should learn what /s means.
I am all for privacy but your reaction shows us another problem in our society – ignorance, and over reaction, when you should just lighten up.
If you need the silly Internet slang abbreviation “/s” to telegraph your sarcasm, then your attempt at it is poor. Good or relevant sarcasm shouldn’t require an indicator of any kind . By the way, calling my posts “vile” is a pretty big stretch for one who relishes in •your• kind of “sarcasm.” And while I respect your right to your opinion, it’s worth less than 2 cents to me.
I read some of your older posts. I sincerely think you need to work on anger issues.
One year ago I decided to leave my last work and i couldn’t be happier now… I started to work from home, for a company I discovered online, several hours /a day, and I earn much more than i did on my office work… My last month paycheck was for 9k dollars… The best thing about this work is that i have more free time for my family… CHILP.IT/8d93f4b
“New York district attorney calls for federal law to unlock seized iPhones”
The dopes who voted for this detestable imitation of a human being, Trump, and the dopes who didn’t even get out to vote at all, will increasingly feel his determined wrath. Our freedoms, one by one, will be eaten away or taken wholesale. The ability for government and law enforcement paranoids to remove our smartphone privacy is only the beginning.
Our precious democratic republic is about to be tested as never before in its 240 years. We can only hope it survives the vile insults to come.
Back ‘atcha, kid. Smallest Skil(l) = smallest mind.
(yawn)
“Boycott all Apple products until such time as Apple gives cellphone info to authorities regarding radical Islamic terrorist couple from Cal” —tweet from Donald Trump
So “tweets” the man who refuses to release his income taxes, speciously insisting he “cannot do so while under IRS audit.” Bet he wouldn’t turn over •his• smartphone to ANYONE. If he did, he’d be slapped in jail or prison immediately.
What a hideous excuse for a human being is the new would-be King of America.
And won’t divest of his huge corporate conflicts of interest.
Not surprised the Trump supporter has to resort to name calling
Skil, you’re just a small, mean-mouthed, rude, uneducated kid. Your rants reflect your lack of upbringing.
Smallest, I see how important it is for you to be “correct”, and to have the last word. Such is usually the case with an immature person. As such, you are the •perfect• Trump supporter: little or no education, the need to bully and taunt, foul-mouthed name-calling, offering only specious (look it up) comments intended to incite. It’s patently (look it up) clear that trying to converse with you is a waste of time. Have a nice four years with Führer Trump, or probably much less.
>>name-calls
>>has said nothing
By the way, world-view is spelled with a hyphen.
So the biggest portion of crimes for unlocking phones is identity theft and cybercrime, and their idea is to REMOVE ENCRYPTION from cell phones. Think people think!!!!