The FBI is “deeply concerned” by Apple’s new security measures, saying it will hurt the agency’s work.

FBI “deeply concerned” by Apple’s decision to add new protections to its cloud storage system, as it will prevent the agency from preventing a number of crimes.

The company already uses end-to-end encryption for iMessages between Apple devices, which means messages can only be read on smartphones and not by Apple or law enforcement.

With this update announced on Wednesday, tech giant will allow users to secure the vast majority of the data they upload to iCloud.

“This hinders our ability to protect the American people from criminal activities ranging from cyberattacks and violence against children to organized drug trafficking. a crime and terrorism,” the FBI spokesman said. Washington Post.

The FBI is

The FBI is “deeply concerned” by Apple’s decision to add new security features to its cloud storage system nationwide as it would hinder the agency from preventing a number of crimes.

The FBI added that it is “deeply concerned about the threat posed by end-to-end and user-only encryption.”

“In this age of cybersecurity and “security by design” requirements, the FBI and law enforcement partners need “lawful access by design.”

The new encryption option will be available to public software testers immediately, to all U.S. customers by the end of this year, and to other countries starting next year, Apple said in an announcement, adding that it may not be available in all by the end of 2023. countries. .

“Advanced Data Protection is Apple’s highest level of cloud data security, giving users the ability to protect the vast majority of their most important iCloud data with end-to-end encryption so it can only be decrypted on their trusted devices,” Ivan Krstic. , head of security and architecture at Apple, said in a statement.

WHAT IS END-TO-END ENCRYPTION?

End-to-end encryption ensures that only two chat participants can read the messages, and no one in between – not even the company that owns the service.

End-to-end encryption is designed to prevent data from being read or secretly modified in transit between two parties.

The cryptographic keys required to access the service are automatically provided to only two participants in each conversation.

Once decrypted, the messages are available to a third party, making them susceptible to interception by governments for law enforcement reasons.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is already encrypted, and now Mark Zuckerberg wants to do the same with Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct.

According to security experts cited by Apple, total data breaches more than tripled between 2013 and 2021, with 1.1 billion personal records exposed worldwide in 2021 alone.

This is not the first time that Apple has clashed with law enforcement over the provision of access to user data.

In 2020, Apple decided to cut plans to further encrypt iCloud data after receiving significant resistance from the FBI, multiple sources said at the time.

However, the new privacy policy is likely to undermine a particularly effective law enforcement tool.

Over the six-month period covered by Apple’s recent report transparency reportthe company said it has shared user-generated content for legal reasons 3,980 times, mostly in the US and Brazil.

Privacy experts were very pleased with Apple’s announcement.

“It’s great,” Meredith Whittaker, president of Signal, an encrypted chat app, told The Post. “There was enough pressure and enough narrative work for them to see how a side of the story is shaping up. It’s really incredible.”

The tech giant also said it is making iPhones compatible with physical security keys that plug into the phone so users can require them to access their device. This will prevent phones from being hacked by hackers who steal passwords and usernames.

At Apple, we are unwavering in our commitment to providing our users with the best data protection in the world. We are constantly identifying and addressing new threats to their personal data on devices and in the cloud,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering.

“Our security teams work tirelessly to keep users’ data safe, and with iMessage contact key verification, security keys, and advanced data protection for iCloud, users get three powerful new tools to further protect their most sensitive data and messages.”

Despite Apple’s reputation for being a privacy company, two developers recently published a report saying that the company collecting data about your customers while they use pre-installed apps like the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Books, and Stocks even if they have disabled analytics sharing.

These apps send requests to Apple that indicate which apps the user has viewed, including those related to sexuality and religion, the stocks they have viewed, and which ads they have seen.

The collection of data also includes identification numbers and the type of device used, which is sufficient for device fingerprinting.

“In this age of cybersecurity and security by design, the FBI and law enforcement partners need to "lawful access by design,"the agency said.

“In this age of cybersecurity and “security by design” requirements, the FBI and law enforcement partners need “lawful access by design,” the agency said in a statement.

“It’s great,” Meredith Whittaker, president of Signal, an encrypted chat app, told The Post. “There was enough pressure and enough narrative work for them to see how a side of the story is shaping up. It’s really unbelievable’