May 14, 2024 14:00:00

It turns out that Apple and encryption services Wire and Proton provided information on activists at the request of police

It has been revealed that Spanish police have obtained personal information from encryption services Wire and Proton, as well as Apple, in an effort to identify independence activists in the Spanish region of Catalonia.

Encrypted services Apple, Proton and Wire helped Spanish police identity activist | TechCrunch

https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/08/encrypted-services-apple-proton-and-wire-helped-spanish-police-identify-activist/

According to technology media TechCrunch, the Spanish police agency

Guardia Civil , which acts as a military police force, has requested Wire and Proton to disclose information about activists through judicial authorities, and both companies have complied.

Wire provided the activist's email address, and Proton provided the activist's iCloud email address for recovery to Guardia Civil, who then requested further information from Apple, obtaining two addresses and the associated Gmail account.

In addition, Wire and Proton (PDF file) Apple , Wire and Proton all state in their company policies that they will 'respond to requests from law enforcement agencies if necessary.'

According to technology media TechCrunch, the Spanish police, Guardia Civil, has requested, through judicial authorities, that Wire and Proton disclose information about the activists, and both companies have complied.

Wire provided the activist's email address, and Proton provided the activist's iCloud email address for recovery to Guardia Civil, which then requested information from Apple, obtaining two addresses and the associated Gmail account.

This information apparently helped Guardia Civil track down 'the perpetrators of the street riots in Catalonia in 2019.'

Encryption services protect communications by encrypting them with a key that is normally only held by the user. Wire emphasized that communications are protected, stating, 'We have only provided basic account information, and we cannot view or disclose the contents of data sent within the service.' Proton similarly stated, 'We can only confirm minimal account information,' and explained that this time, the activists themselves had set up an unencrypted recovery address, so they provided it as information that could be disclosed.

Apple, Guardia Civil and Swiss judicial authorities did not provide further details.