FBI: Encryption Infects Law Enforcement Community

The FBI really really dislikes end-to-end encryption, saying that it’s a problem that infects the law enforcement community (paywall).

The so-called going-dark issue…is a problem [that] infects law enforcement and the intelligence community more and more so every day,” said Amy Hess, executive assistant director with the FBI, in an interview. Ms. Hess, who previously oversaw the FBI’s science and technology branch, testified to Congress on the problem during Apple’s 2016 clash with the bureau.

Apple and others are worried about Australia’s encryption ban, and it could be a test case for the rest of the Five Eyes.

Sorry, Facebook Messenger Decryption is Secret

Yesterday a U.S. judge ruled that a secret government effort to compel Facebook to decrypt Messenger voice conversations won’t be revealed.

Groups including the American Civil Liberties Union argued that the public’s right to know the state of the law on encryption outweighed any reason the U.S. Justice Department might have for protecting a criminal probe or law-enforcement method.

One word: PRISM.

Apple/Amazon Trillions, 5 Eyes Magic, iPhone Battery Replacement Reminder - ACM 478

Amazon was briefly the second company—after Apple—to be valued at US$1 trillion. Bryan Chaffin is joined by Jim Tanous to discuss what makes the two companies, and their valuations, different. They also examine the recent 5 Eyes statement attacking encryption, and then remind everyone to take advantage of Apple’s iPhone batter replacement program while they can.

Twitter Insanity, Apple's AI Showdown, FBI Exaggeration, Apple's HQ Hunt - ACM 463

Twitter has lost its corporate mind, Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet argue in this episode of ACM. They also weigh the importance of WWDC 2018 in terms of Siri, and discuss whether or not Apple has to announce significant improvements to remain competitive in AI. Then there’s the revelation that the FBI exaggerated the number of locked iPhones it couldn’t get into, and they squeeze in a fourth topic, too: Apple’s hunt for a new campus, and how it contrasts with Amazon.