![\"AppleColor\"](\"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernjournal\/files\/2016\/02\/AppleColor.jpg\")
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By: Alvin Wilson \r\nStaff Writer<\/pre>\nApple is refusing to give the FBI access to encrypted data on one of the San Bernardino shooter\u2019s iPhone.<\/p>\n
The FBI has requested that Apple build the technology necessary to decrypt the data that they currently can\u2019t access.<\/p>\n
Bob Broeg, professor of computer science at Western, described encrypted data as being a sentence with the letters jumbled up. To find the correct order, you have to have a key.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith most encryptions today, you have two keys,\u201d he said. \u201cOne is a public key that you can use to encrypt something, but you can\u2019t decrypt it without a private key. So, anybody can send an encrypted message, but only the person with the second key can decrypt it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apple encrypts some of the data that is stored on their phones to protect the privacy of the user, but the government still has access to metadata, according to Dana Schowalter, assistant professor of communication studies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government can find metadata whether or not it\u2019s encrypted,\u201d she said. \u201cThey can find\u2014on our phone records and things like that, they can determine when we text somebody.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if you iMessage somebody else, for example, that\u2019s encrypted. It doesn\u2019t show up on your bill, and therefore can\u2019t be subpoenaed from the phone company because they don\u2019t necessarily keep records of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The FBI wants access to encrypted information on one of the San Bernardino shooters\u2019 phone, but Apple is afraid of future privacy violations that could occur if the government receives access to this technology.<\/p>\n
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, sent an open letter to Apple customers.<\/p>\n
“While we believe the FBI’s intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products,\u201d Cook said in the letter. \u201cAnd ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.”<\/p>\n
Schowalter agrees about the importance of our freedom of privacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen that information is encrypted, I think people value that because it means the information is protected,\u201d she said. \u201cIn an era where almost nothing is protected, having at least some content that could be protected is very valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg has publicly supported Apple\u2019s decision, but, according to a Pew Research poll, 51 percent of Americans think they should submit to the demands of the FBI.<\/p>\n
The FBI is arguing that Apple\u2019s encryption policy is interfering with their ability to protect the public.<\/p>\n
Schowalter is skeptical of this argument.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you take a look at what they\u2019re asking Apple to do, I think there is some security case for being able to access that information,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the same time,\u201d she added, \u201casking for this backdoor seems to be a huge overreach, and I don\u2019t think the government has shown that they can exercise restraint in what they\u2019re collecting and how they\u2019re using that information.\u201d<\/p>\n
Broeg thinks that Apple should help the FBI, but not by providing a backdoor to the government.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if there was an error that the FBI needed to figure out, Apple could decrypt it for them,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it should probably stay somewhat encrypted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schowalter said the long term effects might be similar to what we saw with the Patriot Act.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think people really notice when they\u2019re being spied on now, so I think it just adds a layer of distrust,\u201d she said. \u201cI think we, in the fearmongering that happened after 9\/11, consented to all sorts of breaches of our basic human rights to privacy. I think it sets a very dangerous precedent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Contact the author at awilson15@wou.edu or on Twitter @awilsonjournal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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