Apple ordered to open encrypted user accounts globally to UK spying

bjf123

Astyanax I had actually forgotten all about it until all this came up about the UK’s demand on Apple.

HELLFIRE

https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/05/apple_reportedly_ipt_complaint/ -- Apple drags UK government to court over "backdoor" order

Updated Apple has reportedly filed a legal complaint with the UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) contesting the British government's order that it must forcibly break the encryption of iCloud data. The appeal will be the first of its kind lodged with the IPT, an independent judicial body that oversees legal complaints against potential unlawful actions by a public authority or UK intelligence services, according to the Financial Times, which broke the news. The revelation follows a battle between the iGadgetmaker and the UK's Home Office, which has long set its sights on Apple's encrypted cloud-hosted data, arguing it needs a backdoor in order for law enforcement to investigate persons of interest. ... Despite being "technical" by name, it's understood that the notice didn't include any technical instructions for Apple, just an order to allow a so-called backdoor into its iCloud network which could be used to gather data that's otherwise typically out of reach of criminal investigators. ... Apple responded by disabling its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature for UK users in early February, effectively removing end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for data backed up to iCloud to appease the government without fully complying with the TCN.

... Updated to add at 1833 UTC
Interestingly enough, the UK government appears to have scrubbed from the web its previous and now politically inconvenient advice to barristers, solicitors, and others in sensitive professions to use Apple's ADP at-rest end-to-end encryption. Fancy that!

"Nerd Harder" Governmental Idiocracy continues 🙄 🙄 -- https://broadbandbulletin.com/d/1339-thereg-opiniongovernments-cant-seem-to-stop-asking-for-secret-backdoors

Regards

HELLFIRE

https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/14/apple_uk_encryption_hearing/ –
Apple’s alleged UK encryption battle sparks political and privacy backlash. National security defense being used to keep appeal behind closed doors

US politicians and privacy campaigners are calling for the private hearing between Apple and the UK government regarding its alleged encryption-busting order to be aired in public. Reports suggest that Apple planned to appeal the demand at a behind-closed-doors High Court hearing of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) this morning. The entire process is shrouded in secrecy, however. The alleged order, made in the form of a technical capability notice (TCN) issued under the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), was reportedly issued to Apple last month by the Home Office. … Apple is believed to be appealing the TCN today, but like the notice itself, the IPT hearing is being treated with the same hush-hush approach. … The UK generally subscribes to the principle of open justice, where most court hearings are held in public. There are, however, a number of exceptions where hearings are closed off to the public, such as when the courts try to protect vulnerable witnesses or, in this case, make the national security justification. … An open letter signed by Open Rights Group, Big Brother Watch, and Index on Censorship argues that since the case implicates the privacy rights of millions of Brits, details about the conditions under which compliance with a TCN is required are of “significant public interest.” …

Regards

InternetJeff

I’m not much of a fan of Apple, but they should resist this to the maximum extent possible.

It would really be something if, after exhausting all else, Apple just said f-it, and every Apple device on Earth in UK and Commonwealth countries just went dark and lost all service. Then, let the people rise up and do the needful with respect to their government(s).

bjf123

One thing I find interesting is that Android has a bigger share of mobile phone operating systems in the UK albeit a small gap at 51% vs. 48%. Haven’t heard anything about the UK going after Google. Maybe they have and it hasn’t leaked. You can go a couple of ways with this. They haven’t gotten the same request from the UK government. They’ve created, or are working on, the requested backdoor, which I doubt. Or, they got the request and told the UK government to take a hike.

One other factor is with Apple, it’s one company controlling the OS. With Android, aren’t there numerous versions of the OS, depending on the device provider, e.g. Google vs. Samsung?

Somewhat-Reticent

bjf123 They haven’t gotten the same request from the UK government.

How would anyone discover this? Wouldn’t it be likewise shrouded in “secrecy”?

InternetJeff

bjf123 With Android, aren’t there numerous versions of the OS, depending on the device provider, e.g. Google vs. Samsung?

Well, Apple is one walled garden. It is an easy and singular target. What Apple imposes to Apple device owners is imposed upon all Apple device owners. If a nation wants to impose government edicts on user devices/accounts, it is easy to do so to users already on a captive platform.

However, with Android, any provider can obtain the base OS from the AOSP (Android Open Source Project), modify as desired, incude any necessary drivers, complie it, and put it on a device. Compared to controlling Apple, this would be like trying to herd a thousand cats.

Full disclosure: All my Android mobile devices use custom open sorce ROMs. I control the features and updates. The first thing I do when I get a mobile device is to unlock the bootloader, root it, and install the custom ROM of my choice.

bjf123

Somewhat-Reticent How would anyone discover this? Wouldn’t it be likewise shrouded in “secrecy”?

It leaked in Apple’s case, probably by someone inside the company. Why not for Google? Maybe no reporter has a source high up in the company.

Stembolt

Apple Inc. v the UK government

Apple has won its first legal battle over the UK’s demand for a backdoor to encrypted data: the right to tell everyone it’s happening. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal has ruled on whether Apple’s claim should be kept secret on national security grounds, and Apple won.

That doesn’t bring it any closer to restoring ADP encryption in the UK, nor does it mean hearings will be public, but this open secret is a little more open.

HELLFIRE

https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/07/home_office_apple_backdoor/ – UK’s attempt to keep details of Apple ‘backdoor’ case secret… denied

Details of Apple’s appeal against the UK’s so-called “backdoor order” will now play out in public after the Home Office failed in its bid to keep them secret on national security grounds. The confirmation comes after the Investigatory Powers Tribunal held a closed-door hearing on March 14, which was presumed to be related to Apple’s appeal itself, rather than about whether the appeal itself would be heard in public, the details of which were released today. Lawyers representing the Secretary of State, Yvette Cooper, applied to the tribunal to ensure the “bare details” of the case involving a Technical Capability Notice (TCN) being issued to Apple be kept secret. They argued that airing these was not in the public interest and would be prejudicial to national security. … The judgment, a shortened version of which was made public today, considered not only arguments from Cooper and Apple, but also submissions from other interested groups. Privacy activists Liberty and Privacy International filed written submissions to the tribunal arguing that they should be allowed to attend the March 14 hearing and for the details to be publicized. …

Mostly the same thing, but FWIW.

Regards

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