with end-to-end encryption, complying with those directives becomes complicated.
Apple has been asked to provide data to law enforcement before, and it has refused to comply. In 2016, the FBI obtained the iPhone of one of the suspected San Bernardino shooters. The terrorist attack left more than a dozen people dead, and the FBI believed the contents of the suspect's iPhone would assist in the investigation. Apple refused to assist in unlocking the device — or by a security measure that deletes all data after 10 failed code attempts — and faced a lawsuit for that decision. The company said then that creating a backdoor would give bad actors an advantage, and feared the government would make unnecessary requests for data.
In part, with the help of a third-party company. However, the company could access some information stored in the cloud that was not secured by end-to-end encryption. It's possible that this information could be requested by law enforcement, and Apple would be legally required to turn over data. But now that there's an optional end-to-end encryption feature for iCloud backups, this data would be impossible to access by Apple or third parties.
FBI "Deeply Concerned" By iCloud Encryption
Apple is calling its end-to-end encryption option 'Advanced Data Protection for iCloud,' and it seems to be a no-brainer for privacy-conscious s. With the feature enabled, nearly all major cloud-based Apple services utilize end-to-end encryption, apart from Mail, s, and Calendar. Most importantly, iCloud backups — which store a copy of a 's device in the cloud — are now end-to-end encrypted. If a government entity or law enforcement agency asks for this data through a court order, Apple will be unable to comply, as even it does not have the key to decrypt a 's data stored with Advanced Data Protection for iCloud.
The company has had the tools to implement end-to-end iCloud encryption for years, but has hesitated to enable the feature for a few reasons. First, this will make it impossible for s to recover their stored data in case they forget their or cannot complete two-factor authentication. Apple has also considered numerous pleas from law enforcement agencies that contend end-to-end encryption would hinder their investigations. Six years after the Apple v. FBI case was dropped, the company decided to implement end-to-end encryption as an opt-in feature.
Apple's Advanced Data Protection for iCloud has already drawn criticism from government agencies in the days since it was announced. In a statement emailed to Advanced Data Protection for iCloud will be available immediately for beta testers, and will be rolled out to U.S. s later this year.
Source: Apple, The Washington Post