Three questions about Apple, encryption, and the U.K.

['Matthew Green', "I'M A Cryptographer", "Professor At Johns Hopkins University. I'Ve Designed", 'Analyzed Cryptographic Systems Used In Wireless Networks', 'Payment Systems', 'Digital Content Protection Platforms. In My Research I Look At The Various Ways Cryptography Can Be Used To Promote User Privacy.'] A Few Thoughts on Cryptographic Engineering 2025-02-23 00:00:00

Apple’s decision to disable their encrypted cloud backup feature has triggered many reactions, including a few angry takes by Apple critics, accusing Apple of selling out its users: But perhaps the most famous example of Apple’s aggressive stance on encryption occurred during the 2016 Apple v. FBI case, where the company actively fought U.S. government’s demands to bypass encryption mechanisms on an iPhone belonging to an alleged terrorist. This was due to a critical feature of the new law: it enables the U.K. government to issue secret “Technical Capability Notices” that can force a provider, such as Apple, to secretly change the operation of their system — for example, altering an end-to-end encrypted system so that Apple would be forced to hold a copy of the user’s key.