The Trump Administration is opening up a new investigation against the UK after it made demands to Apple to design a global backdoor for its iCloud service.
The Director for National Intelligence shared more on this front including how that could be a possible violation of the bilateral agreement between both nations. This is why a letter was recently sent out as a response to Senator Ron Wyden and Rep Andy Biggs on this front.
It was explained how she wasn’t made aware of the demands of the UK that were done secretly. However, she did shed light on how the UK government may have broken the agreement of privacy and surveillance by making such a big demand.
Media reports from the UK government made the private demand to the iPhone maker and how it needed to design a security backdoor that would enable authorities to access all encrypted information of users, not just found locally on iPhones. As per media reports, Apple was bound and could not make the revelations public about whether or not it was designing the iCloud backdoor.
Instead of silently complying and risking user data security around the globe, Apple shared that it got rid of the chance to put an end to E2E encryption backups for iCloud for clients in the UK. In the letter, it was shared that such a move would be a serious violation of American privacy and civil rights despite the FBI calling for similar access at various times.
They shared how they’re aware of the press reporting how the UK Home Secretary served the Cupertino firm another secret order and directed the organization to produce a back door feature in the iCloud encryption database to assist with the British government’s access to any users’ uploaded information. So no matter where they’re located in the world, their information would be accessible.
The matter opens up a serious case of debate as it gives rise to major vulnerability for exploitation by cyber means through threat actors. Right now, a cross-agency effort is on the way to determine the UK’s demand and what such requests could actually mean for American firms regarding risk.
They’ve similarly asked the CIA, FBI, NSA, and DHS to give their respective insights on the actions recently reported by the public. They also hope to engage with officials in the UK government.
The agreement in question that might have been violated was the CLOUD Act between America and the UK which the UK feels was in complete violation. Right now, lawyers are working hard to give legal opinions on the effects of such a demand. As per the agreement, the UK has no right to issue such demands for data belonging to American nationals or those with permanent residencies. They also cannot demand that such information be revealed to Americans outside the country. The same goes for the US who cannot demand the UK to provide data belonging to British citizens in the UK.
Any sharing of data between government or private entities is done in a way that safeguards and respects American law and the rights of American citizens. They look forward to making sure the UK government has taken up a series of actions to keep the privacy of US citizens safe at all times, no matter how much pressure arises from the media.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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The Director for National Intelligence shared more on this front including how that could be a possible violation of the bilateral agreement between both nations. This is why a letter was recently sent out as a response to Senator Ron Wyden and Rep Andy Biggs on this front.
It was explained how she wasn’t made aware of the demands of the UK that were done secretly. However, she did shed light on how the UK government may have broken the agreement of privacy and surveillance by making such a big demand.
Media reports from the UK government made the private demand to the iPhone maker and how it needed to design a security backdoor that would enable authorities to access all encrypted information of users, not just found locally on iPhones. As per media reports, Apple was bound and could not make the revelations public about whether or not it was designing the iCloud backdoor.
Instead of silently complying and risking user data security around the globe, Apple shared that it got rid of the chance to put an end to E2E encryption backups for iCloud for clients in the UK. In the letter, it was shared that such a move would be a serious violation of American privacy and civil rights despite the FBI calling for similar access at various times.
They shared how they’re aware of the press reporting how the UK Home Secretary served the Cupertino firm another secret order and directed the organization to produce a back door feature in the iCloud encryption database to assist with the British government’s access to any users’ uploaded information. So no matter where they’re located in the world, their information would be accessible.
The matter opens up a serious case of debate as it gives rise to major vulnerability for exploitation by cyber means through threat actors. Right now, a cross-agency effort is on the way to determine the UK’s demand and what such requests could actually mean for American firms regarding risk.
They’ve similarly asked the CIA, FBI, NSA, and DHS to give their respective insights on the actions recently reported by the public. They also hope to engage with officials in the UK government.
The agreement in question that might have been violated was the CLOUD Act between America and the UK which the UK feels was in complete violation. Right now, lawyers are working hard to give legal opinions on the effects of such a demand. As per the agreement, the UK has no right to issue such demands for data belonging to American nationals or those with permanent residencies. They also cannot demand that such information be revealed to Americans outside the country. The same goes for the US who cannot demand the UK to provide data belonging to British citizens in the UK.
Any sharing of data between government or private entities is done in a way that safeguards and respects American law and the rights of American citizens. They look forward to making sure the UK government has taken up a series of actions to keep the privacy of US citizens safe at all times, no matter how much pressure arises from the media.
Read next: YouTube Celebrates Podcasts Hitting Over One Billion Monthly Active Viewers On the App
