3 ms·
I generally value tptacek's comments on security matters, but this position doesn't make sense to me. When Apple decides to take away an app I paid for, I have
by DareRight 8y ago
I generally value tptacek's comments on security matters, but this position doesn't make sense to me.
When Apple decides to take away an app I paid for, I have no security to block them. When Apple decides to quit posting security updates, I'm out of luck. When Google reaches in and takes my location data without permission, I can't stop them.
With open software, there's no guarantee I'm more secure. But when some security issue does come to my attention, I'm more likely to have some say in how I respond. Somebody claims to have a more secure or privacy-respecting driver? Strongly recommended by experts I trust? I'll look into it. With Apple, I can't. There is no such alternative.
The ssl lib has known vulnerabilities? Wait for Apple? Or install some shim until there's a fix? Oh wait, on Apple devices, you don't have an option.
Apple is not only closed. It's walled. As the owner I am kept on the wrong side of the wall. And there are parties on the other side of the wall that I don't want to be on that side.
This is a security model that is hard to lose to. If Purism let's me control the wall, I'd say that's a welcome change.
- busterarm 8y agoAnd I generally vehemently disagree with tptacek and most of what he stands for, but he's correct here. > When Apple decides to take away an app I paid for, I have no security to block them. When Apple decides to quit posting security updates, I'm out of luck. When Google reaches in and takes my location data without permission, I can't stop them. This is not security. This is some weird definition of security you're using here. > With open software, there's no guarantee I'm more secure. But when some security issue does come to my attention, I'm more likely to have some say in how I respond. Somebody claims to have a more secure or privacy-respecting driver? Strongly recommended by experts I trust? I'll look into it. With Apple, I can't. There is no such alternative. Software security doesn't much matter with phones when the hardware security is crippled or non-existent. Software security means fuck-all if you can pull from the phone's memory via a cable, via the modem, or via JTAG. The iPhone is the most secured hardware of any phone on the market and by quite a long shot. Reading through the comments here is frustrating because tptacek seems to be talking about hardware and all of the responders are talking about software. It's not like your personal computer where you "need to get physical access in a powered on state". Getting access to an adversary's phone is _beyond trivial_.