Yes, Apple is toughening up the security of iPhones with iOS 12.

Yes, the steps Apple is taking will make it harder for law enforcement agencies to thwart iPhone security.

But no, that’s not the reason Apple is doing it.

To understand better, let’s take a little history lesson.

Back in 2016, Apple CEO Tim Cook opposed court requests that his company help the FBI unlock the iPhone 5C of San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook.

All of us were appalled by the deaths that occurred in San Bernardino, and the impact the attack would have on those left injured, and the friends and family of the deceased.

But many in the tech community agreed with Apple that the horror of such thankfully rare attacks shouldn’t be the catalyst for an erosion of privacy and security for hundreds of millions of iPhone users worldwide.

Cook described the FBI’s request in simple terms:

Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.

The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.

For a while it looked like Apple and the FBI’s opposing views were on a collision course, until the law enforcement agency suddenly dropped its request and revealed that it had found a way to break into Farook’s iPhone without (Read more...)