U.S. Government Takes A Bite Out of Apple

By Mitchell Green, Reporter

Apple_logo_Think_Different
This was the original Apple logo and company slogan, “Think different.” Image borrowed from Wikimedia Commons.
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This is an Apple iPhone 3G. Image  from Wikimedia Commons.

Recently, Apple has faced some backlash from some families for not providing the assistance that the U.S. government requested in solving the San Bernardino shooting case. When the FBI found Sayed Farook’s iPhone, it was locked with a passcode.

Many of us have had that one friend that took our phone and locked us out of it for fun, but now the agency investigating the shooting is about to inadvertently do the same to Farook’s. The agency has reached out to the phone’s manufacturer, Apple inc., for assistance in retrieving some of the encrypted data from its hard drive.

The company has done a great deal to aid the investigation, saying in a recent letter that was addressed to their customers, “When the FBI has requested data that’s in our possession, we have provided it. Apple complies with valid subpoenas and search warrants, as we have in the San Bernardino case.” However the FBI is asking for more; they want Apple to redesign their iPhone firmware to have what’s known as a “backdoor” in the operating system, which would be an open invitation for hackers to hijack people’s iPhones and steal all of their personal information.

The tech giant has basically told the FBI that this can absolutely not happen in the name of customers’ privacy. In the aforementioned letter, Apple further defended itself by stating, “now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create.”

Other tech companies and their leaders, such as Microsoft’s Bill Gates have sided with Apple on the issue, saying . Tech Shed member Caitlin Rassa made a blunt decision on the situation, saying that “the government should just back off.’ Many students think that Apple is not the one who is in the wrong here. In fact, Tech Shed member Carter Curry said, “Apple cannot be blamed for the inability of the FBI to conduct proper searches.”

Students and CEO’s alike seem to think the government is way out of line. What do you think? Feel free to comment below.