60 Minutes broadcast an interview on Apple CEO Tim Cook on Sunday evening and it revealed a man who is deeply committed to privacy of everyone’s personal information. Cook said that Americans shouldn’t have to choose between privacy and national security. “We’re America,” Cook said. “We should have both.
Many politicians and bureaucrats who obviously do not know much about today’s technology have called for so-called “back doors” in all encryption products making it easier for the government to access everyone’s private data. But the Apple CEO reiterated his belief that such a move would also make it easier for hackers to get people’s personal information, including their financial data and private messages.
Cook did not spell out the risks during the interview although the problem is obvious to anyone who is familiar with encryption: there is no such thing as a SECURE back door. In other words, if the government gains access to your personal information tomorrow through a back door, the Chinese government probably will be able to access the same back door within a few weeks and both the credit card hacker in Uzbekistan and the 12-year-old down the street will gain access in the same manner shortly thereafter.
Categories: Encryption, Offline Privacy & Security
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