iPhone 6/Plus Encryption: Passcode Stops NSA Data Extraction, Critics Worry Apple is Protecting Criminals
With the release of the latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models comes a new hype, which has nothing to do with its fantastic OS but rather the problems the latest model can bring to the National Security Agency (NSA). According to MIT's Technology Review, the latest model poses a big problem to the NSA because of its new encryption capabilities. With the new operating system of the latest Apple model, the details of the phone user are encrypted by a unique system that practically cannot be decoded.
This complex system is a mathematical algorithm that makes a code that is unique per user. Only the user will be able to have access to the information in the phone. So in the case that the user of the phone is facing any problems with the law, no information from the phone can be extracted to be used as evidence. In fact, Apple has said that it would take about five years just to decode information to obtain data from a phone as the passcode to crack the phone open would consist of 6 alphanumeric characters.
This is a good feature to have, especially for people who are very serious about privacy. Moreover, it is very helpful to businessmen who want to keep their work information as private as possible. But this poses a big problem when the phone falls into the hands of unscrupulous people. Should potential kidnappers, crime suspects and terrorists have an iPhone 6, no one will be able to track the movements. Moreover, terrorists' movements cannot be monitored as the OS protects that information as well. Officials in the NSA are worried that those who want to commit crimes will make use of this technology to hide.
Apple has declined to comment on any of these issues.
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