5 ms·

Isn't one of the main sources of data the iCloud backups?

zaroth 8y ago
Of course, from TFA; "The encryption on smartphones only applies to data stored solely on the phone. Companies like Apple and Google regularly give law enforcement officials access to the data that consumers back up on their servers, such as via Apple’s iCloud service. Apple said that since 2013, it has responded to more than 55,000 requests from the United States government seeking information about more than 208,000 devices, accounts or financial identifiers."
- randyrand 8y ago
  That is an insane number. Jesus. Why don't they encrypt the data with my apple id password? Such a big security risk. It seems like hacking the iCloud servers is a much more obvious way for an attacker to get data.
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 8y ago
    This has come up before and the current thought is that Apple won't do this because people themselves are idiots and forget their passwords and ask Apple to regain access to their iCloud data. Obviously if it's encrypted with the password Apple would not be able to allow them to regain access. I don't see any reason why encrypting it couldn't be a toggle switch, not on by default, though.
- GeekyBear 8y ago
  When Apple announced iMessage in the Cloud at last year's WWDC the headline security feature was that the data would be stored on iCloud encrypted with a key that your devices would share with each other, but that Apple did not possess. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d3zdqy/apple-is-trying-to-make-your-imessages-even-more-private https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d3zdqy/apple-is-t...
lev99 8y ago
A smart criminal would disable cloud backup of a phone used in criminal activity.
- chatmasta 8y ago
  It's not as simple as a single toggle. Even when you disable as much as possible, apple still receives telemetric data. And "disable it as much as possible" is no easy task... lots of individual switches and screens you need to navigate to get even close to it.
  - lev99 8y ago
    Location services and iCloud backup would cover most of it.
- s73v3r_ 8y ago
  A smart person wouldn't be a criminal in the first place.
  - lev99 8y ago
    There have been plenty of smart people that were criminals throughout history.
  - vageli 8y ago
    Not all laws are just.
mayniac 8y ago
When I was doing forensics for the police, 9/10 times if we had an iPhone we couldn't get into there'd be an unencrypted iTunes backup. Didn't even need to go to Apple for it, it's all local. Wouldn't get everything from it, iirc it's photos, bookmarks, contacts and documents as well as some app storage (WhatsApp, notably).
- codezero 8y ago
  Didn't realize app storage would be in the iTunes backup, but I guess it makes total sense!
- toasterlovin 8y ago
  Surely the window on this is rapidly closing. I haven't synced my phone to my computer in years. Can't imagine I'm alone here...
- scarface74 8y ago
  Seeing that the last time that the only way you could back up your phone was via iTunes was before the introduction of iOS 5 in 2011, the chance of finding someone with an iTunes backup is slim.
  - jonknee 8y ago
    Plenty of people are cheap and don't pay for iCloud storage which means if you want any backup at all it's local.
    - scarface74 8y ago
      I have four devices on my account and I can back them all up with the 5GB free account. It doesn’t back up your apps - just your data
      - jonknee 8y ago
        That's great for you, but most people have enough photos and videos that 5GB isn't enough for a single device, let alone four. For a similar reason this is why many people complained that Apple continued to ship 32GB phones for so long, it's just too small for most people.

Of course, from TFA; "The encryption on smartphones only applies to data stored solely on the phone. Companies like Apple and Google regularly give law enforcement officials access to the data that consumers back up on their servers, such as via Apple’s iCloud service. Apple said that since 2013, it has responded to more than 55,000 requests from the United States government seeking information about more than 208,000 devices, accounts or financial identifiers."

randyrand 8y ago
That is an insane number. Jesus. Why don't they encrypt the data with my apple id password? Such a big security risk. It seems like hacking the iCloud servers is a much more obvious way for an attacker to get data.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 8y ago
  This has come up before and the current thought is that Apple won't do this because people themselves are idiots and forget their passwords and ask Apple to regain access to their iCloud data. Obviously if it's encrypted with the password Apple would not be able to allow them to regain access. I don't see any reason why encrypting it couldn't be a toggle switch, not on by default, though.
GeekyBear 8y ago
When Apple announced iMessage in the Cloud at last year's WWDC the headline security feature was that the data would be stored on iCloud encrypted with a key that your devices would share with each other, but that Apple did not possess. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d3zdqy/apple-is-trying-to-make-your-imessages-even-more-private https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d3zdqy/apple-is-t...

lev99 8y ago

A smart criminal would disable cloud backup of a phone used in criminal activity.

chatmasta 8y ago
It's not as simple as a single toggle. Even when you disable as much as possible, apple still receives telemetric data. And "disable it as much as possible" is no easy task... lots of individual switches and screens you need to navigate to get even close to it.
- lev99 8y ago
  Location services and iCloud backup would cover most of it.
s73v3r_ 8y ago
A smart person wouldn't be a criminal in the first place.
- lev99 8y ago
  There have been plenty of smart people that were criminals throughout history.
- vageli 8y ago
  Not all laws are just.

mayniac 8y ago

When I was doing forensics for the police, 9/10 times if we had an iPhone we couldn't get into there'd be an unencrypted iTunes backup. Didn't even need to go to Apple for it, it's all local. Wouldn't get everything from it, iirc it's photos, bookmarks, contacts and documents as well as some app storage (WhatsApp, notably).

codezero 8y ago
Didn't realize app storage would be in the iTunes backup, but I guess it makes total sense!
toasterlovin 8y ago
Surely the window on this is rapidly closing. I haven't synced my phone to my computer in years. Can't imagine I'm alone here...
scarface74 8y ago
Seeing that the last time that the only way you could back up your phone was via iTunes was before the introduction of iOS 5 in 2011, the chance of finding someone with an iTunes backup is slim.
- jonknee 8y ago
  Plenty of people are cheap and don't pay for iCloud storage which means if you want any backup at all it's local.
  - scarface74 8y ago
    I have four devices on my account and I can back them all up with the 5GB free account. It doesn’t back up your apps - just your data
    - jonknee 8y ago
      That's great for you, but most people have enough photos and videos that 5GB isn't enough for a single device, let alone four. For a similar reason this is why many people complained that Apple continued to ship 32GB phones for so long, it's just too small for most people.