Manhattan, New York District Attorney's Office has recently released a report detailing the need of making smartphone manufacturers, like Apple with its Apple Encryption, to make its software warrant-friendly. The report was issued in relation to the confiscated 423 iPhone and iPad devices during investigations of crime-related incidents.
The Report on Smartphone Encryption and Public Safety was released by the New York District Attorney's Office calling for legislation to mandate smartphone manufacturer's software encryption. The report explains why encryptions such as Apple encryption are giving law enforcers a hard time to resolve a case.
According to the Tech Republic, the New York District Attorney's Office report smartphone manufacturers should allow law enforcers to access user's data in accordance with their crime investigations progress. It all started after Apple decided to create a unique Apple encryption that will block anyone, including Apple, to have an access to user's data.
This Apple encryption shift started with iOS 8 which was followed by other tech-giants thinking that it offers high security for the owners. But, the New York District Attorney's Office opposed this idea for the reason that this could also be used by the criminals and terrorists "to plot, coordinate, arrange, recruit and conspire, without fear of law enforcement discovering their tracks."
New York District Attorney's Office clarified that they don't want a backdoor from Apple encryption or to any other manufacturer's data encryption. Instead, all they need is to make the encryption a warrant-friendly.
This notion is to make Apple and other manufacturers to have an access and extract owner's data if it was ordered by the federal law. It is to be remembered that Apple released a statement that bypassing user's passcode with iOS 8 Apple encryption needs a government subpoena or search warrants.
Another argument from the New York District Attorney's Office is that the Apple encryption that customers have now does not necessarily mean they are free from hackers or they are really safe. The best example of this was the San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook's phone. The FBI managed to unlock Farook's iPhone 5C.
Aside from Apple encryption, New York District Attorney's Office calls out for the private sectors to discuss the issue of public security with its IT departments. This is to ensure that corporations will set guidelines on how IT employees will handle a situation if the government asks them to decrypt data for an investigation.
Meanwhile, New York District Attorney's Office points out that security issues on smartphone devices, such as Apple encryption, are not only a corporate and government concern. The right to privacy and security is also a public concern whether the user will restrict the government in protecting and helping them in their time of need.
