14 DAY TRIAL // Google CEO Sundar Pichai is one of the first tech executives taking Apple’s side in the fight against the United States government following a judge ruling ordering Cupertino to create custom software that would eventually allow the FBI to break into an encrypted iPhone.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has already announced in a public letter to customers that his company will oppose the judge order as they put user security first, despite the fact that the encryption saga is built around a national security threat.
The encrypted iPhone that the FBI wants to break in belongs to one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino attacks, but Apple says that, even so, providing the government with access to the phone would create a dangerous precedent.
Google’s Sundar Pichai has made a series of comments regarding the Apple case, and although he has refused to say it very clear, he kind of takes Cupertino’s side in this scandal. He calls for further discussions, but he does it in a very cautious way, especially because Google’s own devices and services could be impacted by the outcome of this case.
“Important post by @tim_cook. Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users' privacy. We know that law enforcement and intelligence agencies face significant challenges in protecting the public against crime and terrorism. We build secure products to keep your information safe and we give law enforcement access to data based on valid legal orders,” Pichai explains.
“Looking forward to a thoughtful and open discussion on this important issue,” he concludes, echoing the words of Tim Cook, who has also called for discussions on whether tech companies should be forced to provide the government with access to its devices.
“This is a backdoor”
According to the judge ruling, Apple must develop custom software for the iPhone that would allow the FBI to brute-force the device, so the company doesn’t have to provide the investigators with direct access to the phone. But despite this, Tim Cook warns that what the FBI is seeking is a backdoor and has issued a warning regarding the risks of creating such software.
“The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control,” Tim Cook said.
In the next few days, several other device makers and tech companies are expected to release comments on this case, including Microsoft, as the Redmond-based tech giant has always lobbied against backdoor access for the US government to its services.