Lawfare accusation: "Apple helps the terrorists!"

The security expert and chief editor of Lawfare Benjamin Wittes has written an article highly critical of Apple, guilty of "helping" terrorists thanks to the encryption built into the latest versions of iOS.

For two years now, Apple does not provide the decrypted data relating to users' communications, even in the case of investigations, since iOS 8 system makes it virtually impossible to access data stored by users. All this - accused Wittes - allows the terrorists to communicate via iMessage safely, without any risk of being intercepted: "For example, it could happen that an American citizen is recruited internally by ISIS via Twitter. At that point, the FBI began to monitor the subject, until all communication goes out, because the people involved start using iOS. Some information such as location and metadata can be intercepted, but it is impossible to access other data. "

According Wittes, Apple could be accused for vicarious liability, since it is not able to provide "material support or resources to combat terrorism and prevent attacks and other criminal activities, although it is a company that operates in the world of communications" .

This is certainly a very sensitive issue, because on one hand there is the right to privacy of every citizen, the other come into play situations of public safety are difficult to manage. For now, Apple is on the side of private citizens and individual users.