Apple Ordered to Hack Users

 A Federal Judge has ordered Apple to comply with the FBI in decrypting their own intellectual property in regards to the San Bernardino terrorism case.

“Apple has the exclusive technical means which would assist the government in completing its search, but has declined to provide that assistance voluntarily.” Said U.S Attorney Eileen Decker.

 Yes lets tell the world our own FBI is to incompetent to find other work arounds within Mobile Forensics such as Cloning and Over the Air techniques; instead lets force a company which prides itself on its users privacy to go against their own ethics. Apple CEO Tim Cook told the FBI to get lost in a Customer Letter released Tuesday. I want to personally thank Tim Cook for the appeal because anyone with a a clear understanding of Information Security knows that once you create a backdoor eventually we ALL obtain that backdoor. This is the nature of Cyberspace and this Gov't needs to step its game up if it wants to be relevant in defense because the next major wars will be Cyber Wars. This will also set a precedent for other Governments around the world to court order not just Apple but any company on their intellectual property.
Apple I really hope you stay the course, provide no quarter and continue to Fight The Good Fight. You will have the support of all privacy advocates such as myself and the Electronic Frontier Foundation

"EFF applauds Apple for standing up for real security and the rights of its customers. We have been fighting to protect encryption, and stop backdoors, for over 20 years. That's why EFF plans to file an amicus brief in support of Apple's position."

 Here is the statement release by Tim Cook, it couldn't of been said better....

"February 16, 2016A Message to Our Customers

The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand.

This moment calls for public discussion, and we want our customers and people around the country to understand what is at stake.

The Need for Encryption

Smartphones, led by iPhone, have become an essential part of our lives. People use them to store an incredible amount of personal information, from our private conversations to our photos, our music, our notes, our calendars and contacts, our financial information and health data, even where we have been and where we are going.

All that information needs to be protected from hackers and criminals who want to access it, steal it, and use it without our knowledge or permission. Customers expect Apple and other technology companies to do everything in our power to protect their personal information, and at Apple we are deeply committed to safeguarding their data.

Compromising the security of our personal information can ultimately put our personal safety at risk. That is why encryption has become so important to all of us.

For many years, we have used encryption to protect our customers’ personal data because we believe it’s the only way to keep their information safe. We have even put that data out of our own reach, because we believe the contents of your iPhone are none of our business.

The San Bernardino Case

We were shocked and outraged by the deadly act of terrorism in San Bernardino last December. We mourn the loss of life and want justice for all those whose lives were affected. The FBI asked us for help in the days following the attack, and we have worked hard to support the government’s efforts to solve this horrible crime. We have no sympathy for terrorists.

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. We have also made Apple engineers available to advise the FBI, and we’ve offered our best ideas on a number of investigative options at their disposal.

We have great respect for the professionals at the FBI, and we believe their intentions are good. Up to this point, we have done everything that is both within our power and within the law to help them. But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.

Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.

The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.

The Threat to Data Security

Some would argue that building a backdoor for just one iPhone is a simple, clean-cut solution. But it ignores both the basics of digital security and the significance of what the government is demanding in this case.

In today’s digital world, the “key” to an encrypted system is a piece of information that unlocks the data, and it is only as secure as the protections around it. Once the information is known, or a way to bypass the code is revealed, the encryption can be defeated by anyone with that knowledge.

The government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that’s simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices. In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks — from restaurants and banks to stores and homes. No reasonable person would find that acceptable.

The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers — including tens of millions of American citizens — from sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals. The same engineers who built strong encryption into the iPhone to protect our users would, ironically, be ordered to weaken those protections and make our users less safe.

We can find no precedent for an American company being forced to expose its customers to a greater risk of attack. For years, cryptologists and national security experts have been warning against weakening encryption. Doing so would hurt only the well-meaning and law-abiding citizens who rely on companies like Apple to protect their data. Criminals and bad actors will still encrypt, using tools that are readily available to them.

A Dangerous Precedent

Rather than asking for legislative action through Congress, the FBI is proposing an unprecedented use of the All Writs Act of 1789 to justify an expansion of its authority.

The government would have us remove security features and add new capabilities to the operating system, allowing a passcode to be input electronically. This would make it easier to unlock an iPhone by “brute force,” trying thousands or millions of combinations with the speed of a modern computer.

The implications of the government’s demands are chilling. If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data. The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge.

Opposing this order is not something we take lightly. We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the U.S. government.

We are challenging the FBI’s demands with the deepest respect for American democracy and a love of our country. We believe it would be in the best interest of everyone to step back and consider the implications.

While we believe the FBI’s intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products. And ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect."


UPDATE* FBI already screwed up by resetting iCloud Password


 -SODAGHAR 2/17/16

Intelligence Chief: Spy using IoT


James Clapper the Director of National Intelligence told a Senate Panel Tuesday:

“In the future, intelligence services might use the [Internet of things] for identification, surveillance, monitoring, location tracking, and targeting for recruitment, or to gain access to networks or user credentials,”

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of devices that communicate with each other and have networking capabilities like your smart phone controlling your smart appliances or new cars that are capable of WiFi access.


Samsung quickly made changes to its privacy policy when it told users their smart televisions will pick up audio and video and share that information. 

As you read this I’m sure for most of you there is no shock that a retired lieutenant general and director of the Defense Intellegince Agency such as James Clapper would say such things. 
Back in 2013 during the Edward Snowden revelations of Government Spying I wrote how the NSA collects Billions of Emails, Calls and other data on a daily basis. So yea, just like you there is no shock anymore on what Big Brother is capable of. 
All this data collection didn’t stop the horrible events in Paris nor did it stop the radicals in San Bernardino while we have the FBI Director James Comey begging for the end of encryption because they are to incompetent to crack the code. Is this a joke? We’ll keep our encryption, Thanks.  

This next decade will see the biggest advancement of technology ever witnessed by our species and we will literally be in the Age of Information where everything will be known. From self driving cars becoming a reality to cruise ships right now with robotic bartenders. Next year the first Robotic Kitchens will hit the market to cook for you. 


The United States has 260,000 robot factory workers. So while yuppies debate a minimum wage increase I wonder about the millions of jobs about be lost.

                                                                                                      -SODAGHAR 2/11/16