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Apple SHOULD NOT demand to find out how the FBI did it because it would expose them to discovery requests in future court cases where they would have to tell ot

by x0054 11y ago

Apple SHOULD NOT demand to find out how the FBI did it because it would expose them to discovery requests in future court cases where they would have to tell other people (read China / Russia) how to do it. For now they have plausible deniability and they have plenty of talent to figure out how it was done, or if all else fails, they can pay that same security firm to tell them under cover of an NDA.

nobodyshere 11y ago
Nope. It could be one of many security flaws that are unknown. And you can't be sure which one they used.
- x0054 11y ago
  But the problem still remains, if it's well publicized that they were told about the hack, next time they are compelled by the court they will have to tell everyone what FBI told them.
kingosticks 11y ago
'If all else fails' they would have to write the security firm a blank cheque. I know Apple have a lot of money but the fee would likely be astronomical. Unless, of course, Apple wanted an ongoing contract with the firm to dig out vulnerabilities (on top of whatever they already do). I wonder if that sort of relationship would be economical for both parties.
talmand 11y ago
If it is discovered that Apple knows about the exploit, regardless of how they know about it, then they can be compelled to reveal it in court. An NDA does not give one a pass on testifying in a court of law. It is in Apple's best interest to find out what the exploit is, how long it's been out there, and fix it instead of playing legal games. Such an exploit in the wild is a security concern for every person who owns that phone, not just criminals. There is no telling how many people are out there accessing privileged information in the private and government sectors with that phone. It is a concern covering criminal activity all the way to foreign government spying. As a bonus, if it's an exploit that's been known from before the FBI's claim that only Apple can help them breach the phone, then we know the FBI was full of it. The FBI has been known to use questionable tactics before and backed out of cases that weren't going their way to avoid revealing those questionable tactics. This whole iPhone thing reeks of this.

by x0054 11y ago

nobodyshere 11y ago

Nope. It could be one of many security flaws that are unknown. And you can't be sure which one they used.

x0054 11y ago
But the problem still remains, if it's well publicized that they were told about the hack, next time they are compelled by the court they will have to tell everyone what FBI told them.

kingosticks 11y ago

'If all else fails' they would have to write the security firm a blank cheque. I know Apple have a lot of money but the fee would likely be astronomical. Unless, of course, Apple wanted an ongoing contract with the firm to dig out vulnerabilities (on top of whatever they already do). I wonder if that sort of relationship would be economical for both parties.

talmand 11y ago

If it is discovered that Apple knows about the exploit, regardless of how they know about it, then they can be compelled to reveal it in court. An NDA does not give one a pass on testifying in a court of law. It is in Apple's best interest to find out what the exploit is, how long it's been out there, and fix it instead of playing legal games. Such an exploit in the wild is a security concern for every person who owns that phone, not just criminals. There is no telling how many people are out there accessing privileged information in the private and government sectors with that phone. It is a concern covering criminal activity all the way to foreign government spying. As a bonus, if it's an exploit that's been known from before the FBI's claim that only Apple can help them breach the phone, then we know the FBI was full of it. The FBI has been known to use questionable tactics before and backed out of cases that weren't going their way to avoid revealing those questionable tactics. This whole iPhone thing reeks of this.