If you haven't read Tim Cook's letter yet, please do so immediately.
I don't usually post about political things, but this is a huge issue of concern and one that the general public is very misinformed about. Government infringement on civilian privacy is beginning to threaten our very existence. The creation of this application would literally be the doorway into a post-apocalyptic totalitarian controlled lifestyle-- think a life similar to Minority Report, or worse, eventually The Hunger Games.
When posed with the question of data security infringement on civilians the majority argument is, "well, I have nothing to hide." But this, however, is simply untrue. The idea that you have nothing to hide is an idealistic one at best.
Even our resident wiseguy, Donald Trump believes he has nothing to hide.
The LA Times tweet Donald Trump's statement of usual and blatant disregard for reality this morning.
But, how would Trump feel if the government could access all of his financial information, in real-time, through a backend window? Worse. What if that backdoor were corrupted by someone else; a person who doesn't have the same good intentions as the government does, but rather malicious intentions to steal his identity or bankroll? You see, like Trump, most citizens are largely uninformed as to the real threat malicious cyber attackers pose to their identity, finances, and security.
You have a real need for privacy and security. We all do.
Your bank accounts, access to your Venmo, your geo-location, your email, your camera, microphone, and so much more.
It is not merely that forcing Apple's hand on this would provide an unprecedented level of access. The real issue with asking Apple to decrypt and hack their own operating system is what happens after the government is done using it for this one specific, individual case. The implications of which put us all in danger that inevitably this creates a window for manipulation.
Manipulation of your data. But, really... Who knows what that means?
That means someone else could take, let's say, your GPS data and manipulate it to convict you of a crime you didn't commit. Or, worse. One day data manipulation could even go as far as a preventative tactic used by the government to convict people of crimes they hadn't yet committed but were predicted to because of their data habits and usage.
Um, ok. That's terrifying.
We're staring at a crossroads, and one of those roads leads to a very scary, very threatening life where there is no protection, security, or privacy for anyone and from anything. Not from the powers with good intent, and most certainly not from those who weild power with bad intent. We can not stop allow our government or the media to manipulate our thoughts, our actions, and our futures. The brevity and reality of this situation is undeniable. We can not continue to be silent on issues of privacy and data infringement. We must research for ourselves, discuss amongst ourselves, and make our opinions known. Not only does the governement have a responsibility to protect us, but so too does this burden fall on the companies who engineer the products and technologies we use.
We must stand with Apple, and we must stand with Tim Cook.
Therein lies the proverbial pandoras box, cyber safety and security issue No1.