Re:Snowden: FBI obscuring crucial details in Apple case
by throwawayukcyb on Saturday February 20, 2016 @11:55AM
(#11140825)
> The physical device may not be owned by Apple, but the firmware installed upon it certainly is
This is an interesting observation, actually. It suggests that there is a (legal) price to be paid for retaining tight control over firmware.
Re:Snowden: FBI obscuring crucial details in Apple case
by Consultant32452 on Saturday February 20, 2016 @02:46PM
(#11141594)
I believe there is precedent for companies having to share/reveal their own encryption keys or in this case the certificate necessary to create a firmware update. The certificate is something Apple owns.
Apple is the only entity who can reliably alter the firmware to remove the forensics-thwarting restrictions, due to updates requiring a chain of trust all the way up to Apple's root certificate.
The physical device may not be owned by Apple, but the firmware installed upon it certainly is, both legally (due to copyright law) and cryptographically.