14 DAY TRIAL // Most tech companies out there are taking Apple’s side in the fight against the FBI over the San Bernardino iPhone that the feds want the company to hack while politicians generally claim that Cupertino should comply with the order and break into the handset.
But as far as billionaire Mark Cuban is concerned, Apple has made the right choice by refusing to build a backdoor that can be used by the feds to hack the phone and access information stored on it.
In a post on his blog, Cuban explains that even if Apple agrees to help brute-force the device, there’s no guarantee that another app installed on the phone doesn’t block access to the information the FBI is looking after. Plus, third-party encryption systems could also be used, so should Apple decide to help, this might “potentially be the last step.”
“Terrorists could monitor our unencrypted conversations”
“Amen. A standing ovation. They did the exact right thing by not complying with the order. They are exactly right that this is a very, very slippery slope. And while the FBI is attempting to be very clear that this is a one off request, there is no chance that it is,” Cuban explains.
“This will not be the last horrific event whose possible resolution could be on a smart phone. There will be many government agencies that many times in the future, point to Apples compliance as a precedent. Once this happens, we all roll down that slippery slope of lost privacy together.”
Furthermore, he went on to say that if Apple builds software that can break into an iPhone, terrorists could actually use it against ourselves and then “monitor our encrypted conversations to plan their acts of terror.”
Certainly, opinions are still divided on whether Apple should hack the iPhone or not, but until now, the company doesn’t seem to be very keen on complying with the government order and has already opposed the order.