Re:Apple vs. The F.B.I.: How the Case Could Play Out
by wildmusings on Sunday March 20, 2016 @06:14PM
(#11324930)
They wouldn't be creating the backdoor. The door exists, they're being asked to use their key and walk through it. The exact mechanics of accomplishing that don't matter. The fact that they can do it means that the door already exists. That they publicly insinuated in marketing that this wasn't the case isn't anyone's problem but Apple's. Sounds like a lesson in not making stronger claims than you can justify.
Also, I'm not sure newer phones are unaffected, here's a line from Apple's public letter:
>Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.
Emphasis on "any iPhone".
Well, those aren't entirely separate things. In the instant case, Apple is being asked to create a tool to open an existing phone. That clearly falls under the umbrella of "hacking a phone".
If they were to continue selling phones (that is, after all, what they do) after creating the tool, though, they'd be intentionally shipping phones with a known vulnerability[1]. So it's perfectly sensible to describe the request as being "to create a back door".
[1] I am given to understand that the phones Apple currently manufactures would not be vulnerable to the tool they're being asked to create. I don't feel that changes the issues I mention, but it does mean they don't apply perfectly to this case.