Apple has objected to or otherwise challenged at least 12 government requests to help extract data from locked iPhones since September, bolstering its argument that its current battle about a terrorist’s phone is not as unique as the Justice Department has maintained.
The other requests are listed in a newly unsealed court brief filed by Apple attorney Marc Zwillinger in response to an order from a magistrate judge in a Brooklyn federal court. That case involves a government request to search an Apple iPhone 5s for evidence about a suspect’s possession or sale of methamphetamine.
Apple has refused to extract data from the phone, even though it could (because the phone was running on an older operating system), arguing in court that it was “being forced to become an agent of law enforcement.”
Last week, a California magistrate judge ordered Apple to develop and install software to help the FBI break into an iPhone 5c belonging to San Bernardino killer Syed Rizwan Farook. Apple CEO Tim Cook refused to comply, issuing a public letter that set off a major new debate about digital privacy.
Several of the newly disclosed government requests to Apple are like the one at issue in the Brooklyn case — calling on the company to use its existing capabilities to extract data like contacts, photos and calls from locked iPhones running on operating systems iOS7 and older. But a few requests involve phones with more extensive encryption, which Apple cannot break. To comply in those cases, Apple would presumably be ordered to do something very much like what it’s being asked to do in the San Bernardino case: design new software to let the government circumvent the device’s security protocols and unlock the phone.
The Brooklyn magistrate judge, James Orenstein, appears sympathetic to Apple’s position. He asked Apple for more details “regarding other requests it has received during the pendency of this matter that are of a similar nature to the one at issue in the instant case.”
In his response, Zwillinger included a chart of nine different requests Apple has received under the All Writs Act while the Brooklyn case was ongoing. The act dates back to 1789, and directs companies to assist the government in order to carry out legal requests such as search warrants, as long as doing so doesn’t cause undue burden. That goes well beyond ordinary warrants for information that Apple can easily access.
A list of other All Writs Act orders Apple has received, showing the jurisdiction in which the request was made, the type of device at issue, the version of iOS used on the device, and the status. The list does not include the San Bernardino order, or the request beforebefore Magistrate Judge James Orenstein in the Eastern District of New York.
Not included in the chart, according to a footnote, are additional All Writs Act requests filed by the government shortly preceding the pending case in Brooklyn — two in the Southern District of Ohio and one in the Northern District of Illinois. Apple objected to those orders and hasn’t yet received a response.
The requests listed on the chart were filed in New York, Illinois, California, Massachusetts, and Ohio, in multiple different districts.
The device models ranged from an iPhone 3 to an iPhone 6 Plus, as well as an iPad 2 with Wifi capabilities — and one phone whose model hasn’t been identified yet.
They were running operating systems ranging from iOS4.2 to iOS9.1 — iOS8 being the level at which Apple says it cannot retrieve the data on the phone because it is encrypted, and only the user can unlock it.
Apple objected to all but two of the requests — one where it has not yet received the government’s underlying motion, and another where the agent who filed the request says “she is seeking a new warrant” — which hasn’t surfaced yet.
“Apple has not agreed to perform any services on the devices to which those requests are directed,” Zwillinger wrote.
FBI Director James Comey wrote in a letter on Sunday that “the San Bernardino litigation isn’t about trying to set a precedent or send any kind of message. It is about the victims and justice.”
But the other government requests — especially in cases where Apple would have to develop new software to undermine the security on the device — add to the already considerable evidence that the government is not only trying to get into one terrorist’s phone.
In October, Orenstein directed Apple to challenge the government’s request — asking to hear more on “whether the assistance the government seeks is technically feasible and, if so, whether compliance with the proposed order would be unduly burdensome.” In his memorandum, he explored the many ways Apple might not actually be legally required to help the government under the All Writs Act.
“The question becomes,” Orenstein wrote, “whether the government seeks to fill in a statutory gap that Congress has failed to consider, or instead seeks to have the court give it authority that Congress chose not to confer.”
Read the rest of the brief:
Related:
Are we supposed to believe that the attack in Bernardino happened the way that the discredited US government and media say it happened?
Are we supposed to think that despite the revelations about NSA spying, the alleged perpetrators used their iphones in planning and executing the attack?
Are we to believe that the US government hasn’t had access from the outset?
The Fascist just want the keys to the kingdom like Windows gave them!
THE FOURTH AMENDMENT AMENDMENT IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/fourth_amendment
FEBRUARY 16, 2016 EFF to Support Apple in Encryption Battle
We learned on Tuesday evening that a U.S. federal magistrate judge ordered Apple to backdoor an iPhone that was used by one of the perpetrators of the San Bernardino shootings in December. Apple is fighting the order which would compromise the security of all its users around the world.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/02/eff-support-apple-encryption-battle
With this story, more of GOV’s nonsense is put to light. However, it would be nice to get to the single reason why we have this situation at all…
“Smart Phones” are allowed to be treated differently than what they are: Hand Held computers that can make phone calls. The BS that Apple, Google, and most cell phone service providers get away with is what got us to this point.
If we were told by a person trying to sell us a standard, desktop computer that we would not have root access to the operating system, and would have our access to and choices of applications controlled by my ISP and the manufacturer of the computer, the seller would most likely get laughed out of the room.
And no, I don’t by the rap about what a customer service nightmare supporting open, root-enabled phones would be. The same kinds of rules should apply to smart phone owners that apply to desktop computer owners. If the owner does something stupid, it’s going to hurt. That said, the poorly written excuse for OS code would also have to be addressed…
Fortunately, there are a couple of smart phone manufacturers who are offering well built, well featured, unlocked and root-enabled products. They also include things like dual-SIM capability (What is up with the US and the lack of dual-SIM options?) and tend to cost about half what A-list stuff from Samsung and Motorola runs.
Sorry… by our ISPs… for Phone OS code…
This story looks like Kabuki.
Apple’s iPhone: The Backdoor Is Already There
by William A. Blunden / February 22nd, 2016 / Dissident Voice
The media is erupting over the FBI’s demand that Apple help it decrypt an iPhone belonging to Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the attackers involved in the assault in San Bernardino this past December. Originally Apple wanted the FBI to keep things on the down low, asking the Feds to present their application for access under seal. But for whatever reason the FBI decided to go public. Apple then put on a big show of resistance and now there are legislators threatening to change the law in favor of the FBI. Yet concealed amid this unfolding drama is a vital fact that very few outlets are paying attention to.
Tim Cook protests that Apple is being asked to create “a new version of the iPhone operating system.” This glib talking point distracts attention from the reality that there’s essentially a backdoor on every new iPhone that ships around the world: the ability to load and execute modified firmware without user intervention.
Ostensibly software patches were intended to fix bugs. But they can just as easily install code that compromises sensitive data. I repeat: without user intervention. Apple isn’t alone in this regard. Has anyone noticed that the auto-update feature deployed with certain versions of Windows 10 is impossible to turn off using existing user controls?…..
http://dissidentvoice.org/2016/02/apples-iphone-the-backdoor-is-already-there/
As much as I encourage everyone to vote, it just might be time to up the pressure a notch or two. I don’t know if a concerted effort could be some sort of peaceful protest against govt over stepping the trust bound by the Constitution. It’s probably too late and this is all a ruse to make us accept more surveillance as part of our lives. I don’t trust anything a govt official says or does as it’s at best clouded by deceptive motives. Is this indeed just rhetorical nonsense to get the public compliance or a deeper motive we aren’t aware of. We’ll see soon after the courts decide on the proceedings.
Also, I am not saying this has anything necessarily to do with it – – – but it just might: that dispatcher mentioning at the time of the shooting about the possibility that the police were looking into Farook the week before:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TkF86aWAf4w
If there is one subject on which we’ve seen consistent articles over the past 20 years, it is the deep penetration of the FBI by the Chinese intelligence!
Now Bill Gates, who made a fool of himself to the entire planet, came out for the FBI and his comments proved he didn’t know what the eff he was talking about; he didn’t understand what Apple’s response was about! And since Gates handed over the Windows source code to China back around 2003-2005, and the subsequent millions and millions of compromised personnel records and financial data have since been hacked thanks to Billy Gates — who never reimbursed anyone to my knowledge, the last thing Apple should do is accede to the demands of uber neocon Comey of the FBI!
The second Apple does, within 24 to 48 hours, the Chinese will have their encryption scheme!
The point about Gates handing over source code is outstanding. I completely forgot about that. Even though they probably didn’t hand over EVERYTHING, I’m 100% sure whatever DID get into the hands of the Chinese has been the source of many, many, many attacks against US interests.
As much as I appreciate the courage and wonderful work behind The Intercept (thank you Mr. Snowden, Mr. Greenwald, etc.), there’s an important point missing here that should not be overlooked.
Apple is not saying the encryption is so good they can’t break it; they’re saying they don’t want to be the ones doing the dirty work. This implies Apple knows it can be broken.
I’d have been delighted had Apple’s public position been something like “we put some of our best people on this project to ensure to our satisfaction that we could in good conscience tell our customers their phones were safe and this remains our understanding at this point.”
Indeed, as Jenna McLaughlin has cogently noted in her closing:
Here, in the person of District Judge Orenstein, thoughtful and concerned citizens do have a member of the federal judiciary who seems willing to consider the possibility that some within the government are again attempting to circumvent constitutional protections and/or prohibitions in order to gain unwarranted access to protected privacy.
This is simply the most recent attempt by some in the federal government to cloak unconstitutional invasions of its citizen’s right “..to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects..”* in the tortured rhetorical claims of protecting public safety and national security.
It behooves all concerned citizens to acquaint themselves with the sordid history of the many attempts by government operatives to ursurp, compromise, or circumvent the plain text of the IVth Amendment, rather it is the serial spying on wired telephonic communications of citizens in the 1940’s enabled by the infamous Echelon program, now commonly known as the still evolving Five Eyes, Richard Nixon’s paranoid and unlawful “No Knock Law” and “administrative warrants” of the 1960’s, or the many current debasements of citizen’s personhood by conferring their rights of citizenship on corporate business interests through extrajudicial activism; under the absurd pretense of “strict construction”.
Thanks to Jenna McLaughlin and THE//INTERCEPT for trying to focus attention on this issue.
As Usual,
EA
*Amendment IV.
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
lying seems to have become the new normal for government officials – FBI Director James Comey claiming … it is not about precedent…
At least in this category, Hillary seems to be well qualified!
What sets the San Bernadino case apart is (a) the unlikelihood that that phone will contain anything useful, since the killers seem to have operated entirely alone; and (b) the huge public shock at their crimes, which certainly adds to the pressure the FBI can exert on Apple.
This is a classic example of shock doctrine in action, so congratulations to Apple for resisting.
We get the Government we deserve, and nothing will change until we stop electing Democrats & Republicans after all they are the ones subverting the Constitution, & they must be held to account both politically & legally !
Both parties are owned by corporate America, two sides of the same coin ! Wise up America .
No more lies, excuses, rationalizations,or justifications, the public needs to hold these officials to account to the fullest extent of the law under Title 18 sec. 241 & 242 (Google it), so any future traitors will know there will be consequences to such behavior.
Unaccountable power is absolute power, & is absolutely corrupt !
As Mr. Snowden said the Politicians are afraid of you ! Now is the time exercise you power, you may not get another chance !
REMEMBER: POLITICIANS, BUREAUCRATS AND DIAPERS SHOULD BE CHANGED OFTEN AND FOR THE SAME REASON.
Some words of true Patriots are as follows, as opposed to the words of false flag patriotism of bought & paid for professional politicians of today.
He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.
Benjamin Franklin
He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.
Benjamin Franklin
Experience hath shown, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.
Thomas Jefferson
Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’ because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.
Thomas Jefferson
Tyranny is defined as that which is legal for the government but illegal for the citizenry.”
Thomas Jefferson.
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security,”
Thomas Jefferson wrote this in the Declaration of Independence .
In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.
James Madison
Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power.
James Madison
The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.
Patrick Henry
“We the People are the rightful masters of BOTH Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution”
Abraham Lincoln
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Abraham Lincoln
We should not forget the warning of President Eisenhower .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLqWfWxqh_0
The NSA is controlled & operated by the DOD & the MIC (Military Industrial Complex) Private Corporations.
“The very word “secrecy” is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it.”
President John F. Kennedy
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
April 27, 1961
As is said in the law, falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus. (“False in one thing, false in all things” is an instruction given to jurors: if they find that a witness lied about an important matter, they are entitled to ignore everything else that witness said.) The Government has been lieing to the American public for decades !
As a reminder Hermann Goering said at the Nuremberg Trials .
“The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.”
“Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.”
Benito Mussolini
Time to start removing the corporate Congress from office & defunding the NSA & the Police Surveillance state, to pre 9-11 levels & force them to comply with the law & impose jail time for non compliance under USC Title 18 Sec. 241 & 242 (Google it) .
So VOTE just don’t vote for a Democrat or Republican, send them a message they can’t ignore and will understand ! ! ! They are the problem not the solution !
Only after the members of our 3 branches of Government, both Republicans & Democrats who conspired in this criminal conspiracy & violated the Constitution are prosecuted, should Mr. Snowden be charged with a crime. Prosecute those who broke the law first, in chronological order, then the Government can get around to Mr Snowden .
The short version of the above is as follows:
Any Government or Party that doesn’t abide by the Constitution does not deserve our respect or support ! ! ! They are traitors !
This not about the rule of Law it is about Fascism !
Disclaimer: Be advised it is possible, that this communication is being monitored by the National Security Agency or GCHQ. I neither condone or support any such policy, by any Government authority or third party that does not comply, as stipulated by the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
I completely agree with you.
An other big concern is the all the data that has been cloned from phones at border crossings and other places. Sitting on a government server just waiting to be decrypted.
We are not far from having our phones and computer data copied to a server overtime someone at the TSA or other border things they should.