Tulsi Gabbard, the new U.S. director of national intelligence (DNI), said a demand from the UK government that Apple build a backdoor to access the contents of encrypted iCloud files worldwide constitutes “a clear and egregious violation of Americans’ privacy.”
She then indicated that the UK would not be allowed to spy on Americans in this way.
Apple moved toward deactivating its Advanced Data Protection iCloud privacy-protection feature for iCloud in the United Kingdom. The move is a stopgap measure instead of giving the UK government what it demanded: a “backdoor” way to break the encryption offered by the feature so it could secretly surveil its citizens.
The problem is, this move won’t fully satisfy the UK government, who wants to be able to spy on the iCloud accounts of any Apple user in any country.
Apple offers end-to-end encryption for many more types of iCloud data than it once did. Advanced Data Protection encrypts iCloud Photos, Notes, iCloud Backup and more. But you have to activate the feature to take advantage of the data protection. It is easy … once you find the switch buried in Settings.
We can save you some time. Here’s how and why you should activate it.
The government of the United Kingdom reportedly wants a backdoor into Apple accounts so it can spy on any iPhone or Mac user anywhere. It allegedly ordered Apple to allow it to access everything from any iCloud account globally, breaking the encryption protection on the files.
Apple is fighting the order.
A request by former President Donald Trump that Apple help law enforcement access the contents of iPhones owned by men who tried to assassinate him is apparently based on a mistaken idea about how encryption works.
If the contents of the devices are secured by encryption, there’s nothing Apple can do to access them. That’s the very nature of encryption.
An iMessage upgrade with post-quantum cryptography will make Apple’s instant messaging platform ready to fend off future hackers. Today’s encryption methods likely won’t be able to stand up, which is why Apple is bringing in the cutting-edge protocol.
The new tech will launch in March, making iMessage the most secure, widely used messaging service in the world, according to Apple.
Data breaches have compromised 2.6 billion personal consumer records in the past two years, with a rapid rise since last year, according to an independent study Apple published Thursday.
Increasing threats to consumer data stored in the cloud underscore a need for end-to-end data encryption like Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, launched in 2022, Apple said.
“Bad actors continue to pour enormous amounts of time and resources into finding more creative and effective ways to steal consumer data, and we won’t rest in our efforts to stop them,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “As threats to consumer data grow, we’ll keep finding ways to fight back on behalf of our users by adding even more powerful protections.”
Facebook tightened security on its popular Messenger platform by adding end-to-end encryption for all users. This means Meta can not eavesdrop on conversations.
Reports that this feature was “coming soon” have been circulating since at least 2016.
The U.K. government dropped a plan that would have allowed it to access the contents of any online message looking for illegal content. It had sought a way around the encryption that protects messaging services like iMessage and WhatsApp.
Apple threatened to disable iMessage and FaceTime in the UK rather than submit to the proposal on the grounds that it would completely compromise the privacy of all users. Other companies said the same about their apps.
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The Kingston IronKey Vault Privacy 80 External SSD includes a touchscreen and hardware encryption to protect user data. Unlock it by tapping in a password or numeric passcode onto the touchscreen.
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Nobody likes dealing with online passwords, but a future without them has yet to arrive. So, instead of limping along with weak passwords you use over and over again for different websites — a huge security risk — you should get a password manager with top-notch security like pCloud Pass.
The Kingston IronKey Vault Privacy 80 External SSD includes a touchscreen and hardware encryption to protect user data. Unlock the XTS-AES 256-bit encryption by tapping in a password or numeric passcode onto the touchscreen.
It’s available in capacities up to 1920 GB.
This cloud storage post is brought to you by pCloud.
There’s nothing like breaking out family photo albums and reliving memories with the clan. Or looking back at treasured mementos like holiday cards, diplomas and wedding invitations. And this is true even if it’s all digital rather than physical.
But just as a family can lose photos and papers to fires and floods, it can lose digital items, too. And that’s why it’s crucial to have a backup, like secure cloud data storage from pCloud. The company’s Family Plan, which lets everyone share in the fun, is deeply discounted for a short time. Plus, it comes with extra security in a special Easter promotion campaign.
This cloud storage post is brought to you by pCloud.
The well-regarded pCloud service prides itself on providing highly secure encrypted cloud storage, where you can safely keep your personal files, back up your PC or share your business documents with your colleagues and collaborators. As such, it’s a great alternative to Dropbox, with plenty of benefits above and beyond everyday cloud storage offerings.
The U.K. will spend taxpayer money on a dramatic “publicity attack” against end-to-end encryption, according to a new report. The country apparently hopes to sway public opinion before taking further steps to crack down on the security feature.
A major focus of the campaign will be child safety. M&C Saatchi, the agency hired to run the marketing blitz, reportedly will use child actors to carry out emotive stunts that suggest encryption is being used by predators to conceal their activities.
Storage provider LaCie has rolled out two new portable solid state drives (SSDs), including one model offered exclusively at the Apple Store in space gray to match Apple gear. Apple will offer it later this month.
The next iOS version will make it more difficult for hackers to break into iPhones. Security researchers digging around in Apple’s beta code for iOS 14.5 found that the company began encrypting pointer authentication codes, which will make zero-click attacks far tougher to pull off.
Republican senatators have proposed a new bill that would end the use of unbreakable encryption by tech companies on the basis that it helps “terrorists and other bad actors to conceal illicit behavior.”
The so-called Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act is proposed by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee).
Zoom promised on Wednesday to make end-to-end encryption an option for all users, not just paying ones.
This video conferencing app became incredibly popular during the COVID-19 epidemic. But it also drew criticism for weak security.
Zoom worked quickly to fix that, but again faced complaints when the company decided that end-to-end encryption would only be for paying customers. That’s a decision it changed today.
In its latest update, encrypted mobile messaging app Signal adds tools for blurring faces to better anonymize images. If a face isn’t detected by the tool — or some other piece of sensitive information is included in the image — users can blur areas manually.
Zoom on Thursday acquired Keybase for its experience with encryption and security.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought millions of new users to Zoom, but also criticism for weak security. Its stated goal in purchasing the smaller company, which developed its own messaging and file-sharing service, is to bring end-to-end encryption to Zoom meetings.
Zoom on Wednesday committed to upgrading the encryption in its video-chatting app. And Zoom 5.0, which will be out within the week, will include additional security controls for meeting hosts, like the ability to report disruptive users.
Use of this platform rose enormously since people around the world went into self quarantine. And criticism of Zoom’s security and privacy controls also increased dramatically as Zoombombing became a thing.
The UK’s director general of intelligence agency MI5 thinks that tech companies should provide it with “exceptional access” to encrypted messages when required.
Sir Andrew Parker made his remarks for an ITV documentary broadcast on Thursday about the domestic intelligence agency. He said that it is “increasingly mystifying” why intelligence agencies are not able to easily read the secret messages being sent and received by terror suspects they are monitoring.
The European Commission doesn’t want its staff using WhatsApp or iMessage for internal communications. Instead, they must start using end-to-end-encrypted messaging app Signal as part of a push toward greater security.
“Signal has been selected as the recommended application for public instant messaging,” noted an instruction that reportedly appeared on internal EC messaging boards in early February.
No one could protest legislation aimed at curbing child sex abuse, but a bill that reportedly will be introduced soon in the US Congress could have much wider consequences. One result might be a legally mandated requirement that messaging services have a “backdoor” so that law enforcement can read all encrypted messages.