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Tulsi Gabbard, US Director of the National Intelligence Service, hit a request in the UK to build Apple “rear door” in his ICloud security system, saying that such a move would be a “awful violation of the privacy of Americans who could break the agreement on the data of the two countries.
Appropriate to letter Since Democratic Senator Ron Wyden and Republican Congressmen Andy Biggs, Gabbard said she had shared their “serious concern” that he could enable the British authorities to access the personal data of Americans and that he sent lawyers and intelligence officers to investigate the issue.
“I share your serious concern about the serious implications of the United Kingdom or any foreign country, demanding from Apple or any company to create a” rear door “that would allow access to the personal data of Americans,” Gabbard wrote to US legislations. “This would be a clear and awful violation of privacy and civic freedoms of Americans and opened a serious vulnerability for cyber exploitation by opposing actors.”
Apple last week withdrew his safest storage service in the cloud From the UK, saying that “it can no longer offer” advanced data protection (ADP) for iCloud in the country.
The move followed after an apple came out that Apple had received a secret “technical ability notification” last month according to the Law on Investigation Authority in the UK, demanding it to enable the law to access the encrypted data stored in the cloud.
According to the IPA, which was updated last weeks of the previous conservative government, the recipients of the technical ability notification may not discuss this. Gabbard said she was not aware of the orders before being reported in the press earlier this month.
The law officials have clashed with technological companies for more than a decade for the use of encryption, which investigators say to protect criminals and interfere with the inquiries of terrorists and abusers of children.
Technical companies, including Apple and WhatsApp’s parent’s target, claimed that encryption provides vital consumers protection because more and more of their personal data are entrusted with smartphones, messaging applications and storage internet services.
Great Britain and the US hit Bilateral Data Access Agreement In 2019, allowing countries to share evidence associated with terrorism and other serious crimes after the referee’s approval or other independent government.
Gabbard said that her legal team examines the implications of the UK’s request for this agreement, known as the cloud law, adding that “initial review” suggests that the UK “cannot issue demands for data from US citizens, nationals or legal permanent residents.”
“I look forward to ensuring that the Government of the UK has taken the necessary actions to protect the privacy of US citizens, in accordance with the Law on Cloud and other applicable laws,” she said.
Earlier this month, Wyden and Biggs called on the administration of US President Donald Trump and Apple to “say to the UK that he can go straight to hell with his secret demand,” said: “The US government must not allow what effectively a cyber attack that effectively runs with political means.”
Apple cannot access the stored data using the ADP’s “ultimate” encryption system. In accordance with the command in the UK would require Apple in effect to break his securitywithout the knowledge of its users.
Unlike its standard ICloud storage system, which Apple can decipher after receiving a legal order, activating ADP requires a user to keep the only key that can unlock their information.
“We are very disappointed that the protection that the ADP provides will not be available to our customers in the UK, given the continuous increase in data violation and other customer privacy threats,” Apple said last week.
“As we have said many times, we have never built a rear door or the main key to any of our products or services and we will never.”
