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Eugene

(61,592 posts)
Tue Mar 1, 2016, 07:56 PM Mar 2016

Congress tells FBI that forcing Apple to unlock iPhones is 'a fool's errand'

Source: The Guardian

Congress tells FBI that forcing Apple to unlock iPhones is 'a fool's errand'

Legislators accuse Justice Department of overreaching and undermining
privacy but warn Apple it’s ‘not going to like’ a congressionally mandated
solution


Spencer Ackerman and Sam Thielman in New York and Danny Yadron in San Francisco
Tuesday 1 March 2016 23.04 GMT

The Justice Department is on a “fool’s errand” trying to force Apple to unlock the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists, lawmakers told FBI director James Comey on Tuesday.

Lawmakers of both parties sharply challenged Comey as the House judiciary committee considered the FBI’s court order to unlock an iPhone owned by Syed Farook, who with his wife killed 14 people at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, in December and was killed by law enforcement.

Legislators repeatedly accused the Justice Department of overreaching its authority and undermining both privacy and cybersecurity. Several endorsed Congress passing a law settling the boundaries – something Apple supports – and accused the FBI of trying to circumvent Congress by launching a lawsuit against Apple.

“Can you appreciate my frustration with what appears to be little more than an end-run around this committee?” asked Democratic congressman John Conyers. Representative Zoe Lofgren called FBI demands to weaken Apple’s security a “fool’s errand” that undermined cybersecurity.

Comey, a well-respected figure in Congress, likened impenetrable digital encryption used to protect customer’s privacy such as that of Apple to a “vicious guard dog”.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/01/apple-fbi-congress-hearing-iphone-encryption-san-bernardino
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Congress tells FBI that forcing Apple to unlock iPhones is 'a fool's errand' (Original Post) Eugene Mar 2016 OP
They need to adapt and stop trying to drag us back into the 20th century. Warren DeMontague Mar 2016 #1

Warren DeMontague

(80,708 posts)
1. They need to adapt and stop trying to drag us back into the 20th century.
Tue Mar 1, 2016, 08:11 PM
Mar 2016

what's funny is the FBI already admitted they can't get good hackers, because of their "no pot smoking" rule.

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