The dangers of British cryptography prohibition bill opposed by Apple

ByMarco Paköeningrat

Imposing restrictions on the encryption of mobile communications being deliberated and submitted to the UK House of RepresentativesInvestigatory Powers Bill (survey authority method)"For the first time, Apple announced that it is officially" concerned "by Apple. About the survey authority bill Apple is concerned about the "dangerous future" that can arise as the law is expanded and interpreted.

Apple raises concerns over UK's draft surveillance bill - BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35153264

Apple calls on UK government to scale back snooper's charter | Technology | The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/dec/21/apple-uk-government-snoopers-charter-investigatory-powers-bill

The survey authority bill was submitted to the House of Britain by Rep. Teresa Mei in November 2015. Representative Mey asserts that "encryption function in mobile communication is hindering terrorism and threats are obvious".


Apple's iMessage, for exampleEnd to endThe encryption of encrypted communication is possible, and only the terminal which is communicating can decrypt the encrypted communication. Because of this, even Apple that provides iMessage can not decrypt the encryption, so you can not know what you are communicating with. However, since such a powerful encryption function hinders the investigation to prevent terrorism and violent crime beforehand or to elucidate the case, the survey authority law is a case where the service provider is necessary for investigation , It is obligatory to oblige means to secure the encryption.

In the current law seeking cooperation obligation for investigation, we do not request until decryption, whereas the survey authority bill requires securing a mechanism to decrypt cryptographically in advance. Therefore, if the survey authority law is enforced, in the case of Apple, for example, it is forced to incorporate a mechanism that can release iMessage's encryption into the system, which is called "back doorIt is considered to be the obligation of "

It is obvious that the survey authority bill has a risk of infringing the secrets of communication and the privacy right, and there are many negative opinions that it can cause serious problems depending on the operation.

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, said, "If the British government banned end-to-end encryption, Apple would not refuse to sell iPhones in the UK, Congress is foolishly so It is.

I would like to see Apple refuse to sell iPhone in UK if gov't bans end-to-end encryption. Does Parliament dare be that stupid?

- Jimmy Wales (@ jimmy_wales)2015, November 3

Apple's Tim Cook CEO of Apple's danger of mandating decryption under the Research Permission Law "Everyone wishes to be a safe, crackdown on terrorists, the problem is that way, the backdoor is open When disappointing results can happen, "he said that he was worried about the content of the bill, but again as Apple's official announcement," The existence of the backdoor will make the safety of the user's data There is a danger of falling and the backdoor is like a key hidden under the entrance mat and a malicious person will find it. "As pointed out the dangers that the backdoor is not limited to investigation agencies, We are revealing the opposite position to the Survey Permission Law.

ByBrian Klug

Apple is concerned not only with the obligation to set up the backdoor but also about operational changes on "data jurisdiction" included in the survey authority bill. The survey authority bill contains the content that "we will comply with the law beyond offering services in the UK anywhere where the head office is located and where the data is kept", thereby enabling governments like China and Russia It is concerned that the British government will press for information disclosure even for communicating with the areas where information management is severe due to.

ByKārlis Dambrāns

Since it is extremely unusual for Apple to express its opposition to the bill being discussed in each country, it seems to say that the dangers of the British investigative authority law are more closely upgraded. BBC said that Apple's unusual revealed the opposite position is because the content of the survey authority bill is ambiguous and there is room for expansion and interpretation and concern about the danger caused by it, It seems that we are requesting improvement of sex and accountability.