4 ms·

> Apple are saying "we will protect you from state actors", which is a role usually performed by states Not to sound flippant, but defense attorneys do this, t

> Apple are saying "we will protect you from state actors", which is a role usually performed by states Not to sound flippant, but defense attorneys do this, too. I don't think it's as big a zeitgeist as you think

the_other 4y ago
Good to know. I think Apple's announcement (and as I've learned from this thread MS's and Google's similar programmes) represent a significant step-change. A single defense attorney performs this action on a case-by-case basis, and they earn "single human" levels of income from it. They (to some degree) use that money to make themselves comfortable and perhaps share it with charities and make investments. All the defense attorney's in the world combined still, probably, have access to a fraction of Apple's budget, and a fraction of Apple's audience. Defence attorneys don't always win all their cases. Apple have the kind of money that makes 1000s of attorneys envious. Apple use that money to make infrastructure and client devices and then sell/share that technology with billions of people. Most of Apple customers buy their phones on loan agreements over some contract time-frame. It's "cheap", and the protections are automated. I'm tired and getting rambly about this now, but I intuitively feel like the combination of state-level power (albeit exercised with a very narrow focus), and the way so many people live their (digital) lives interacting with a "noosphere" that crosses international borders are facets of a complex phenomenon we have not witnessed before, and which will merge with other related facets and then emerge as something really different. I accept I'm getting very fuzzy in my thinking here. I'm leaning into my inner sci-fi author (who's not come out for 30years and wasn't too talented when it did).
- alwillis 4y ago
  Excellent points. I don’t think it has sunk in for most HN readers that every iPhone since iPhone 8, released in 2017, can upgrade to iOS 16 and get Lockdown Mode. Apple is providing some protection against state-level actors at scale--hundreds of million devices. That is a step change!

the_other 4y ago

Good to know. I think Apple's announcement (and as I've learned from this thread MS's and Google's similar programmes) represent a significant step-change. A single defense attorney performs this action on a case-by-case basis, and they earn "single human" levels of income from it. They (to some degree) use that money to make themselves comfortable and perhaps share it with charities and make investments. All the defense attorney's in the world combined still, probably, have access to a fraction of Apple's budget, and a fraction of Apple's audience. Defence attorneys don't always win all their cases. Apple have the kind of money that makes 1000s of attorneys envious. Apple use that money to make infrastructure and client devices and then sell/share that technology with billions of people. Most of Apple customers buy their phones on loan agreements over some contract time-frame. It's "cheap", and the protections are automated. I'm tired and getting rambly about this now, but I intuitively feel like the combination of state-level power (albeit exercised with a very narrow focus), and the way so many people live their (digital) lives interacting with a "noosphere" that crosses international borders are facets of a complex phenomenon we have not witnessed before, and which will merge with other related facets and then emerge as something really different. I accept I'm getting very fuzzy in my thinking here. I'm leaning into my inner sci-fi author (who's not come out for 30years and wasn't too talented when it did).

alwillis 4y ago
Excellent points. I don’t think it has sunk in for most HN readers that every iPhone since iPhone 8, released in 2017, can upgrade to iOS 16 and get Lockdown Mode. Apple is providing some protection against state-level actors at scale--hundreds of million devices. That is a step change!