Apple, encrypted data and access?

So Apple has taken a very public stand on its recent legal requirement to develop a method to access a locked iPhone. While there is more to this story than we are specifically told and clearly Apple is making a big issue of this, it is still important.

I would NEVER encourage anyone to store personal data on a smart phone, since PIN's and passcodes are pretty simple to crack for many, but the theory that someone could access this at will undermines everything.

As the old saying goes - if you don't want someone to pick the lock, don't put a lock in the door. And if you don't want anyone to enter your house, don't put a door in it. IF, Apple were to do something, we can be assured that someone would find a way around it and use it against us - legitimate or not. Our recent history is littered with examples of so-called "backdoors" being used incorrectly, illegally or for criminal purposes. 

"But if you have nothing to hide..." is the shout from the intelligence community. While I agree that it makes sense at some level, it still doesn't fundamentally address the concerns at hand. Is this an issue of privacy? Yeah, and that's how it is being positioned by Apple and others. I see this as an issue of security though. If I chose to store data on a device and to protect it, that is my choice. But we are human and we make mistakes. Code will get developed that isn't as good as it should be. Methods for securing the "back door" will be leaked and methodologies used in the code will change. Once the Genie is out of the bottle, there is no way to put it back in! As the internet memes show "what has been seen, cannot be unseen". 

And this isn't just the US Government. My own native UK Government recently tried to get this passed (and failed again), but it is extremely worrying that no one seems to understand things.

Oh, and for my American colleagues and friends, what you probably don't know is that the UK has a law that can (and has) force you to disclose your encryption key! Fail to do so, go to jail! No protection under the constitution there around the right to not incriminate yourself.

So yeah, I think that Apple is doing the right thing.