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Trump Calls for Apple Boycott

By Jeralyn, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Fri Feb 19, 2016 at 10:30:56 PM EST
Tags: Donald Trump (all tags)
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Donald Trump, calls for a boycott of Apple because it won't turn over the encryption code to the San Bernadino shooters' phone.

While his views on Apple are about as important as one grain of sand is to a whole beach, his views as a whole seem to be swaying Republicans. He's leading with one-third of the early Republican vote.

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    Trump Calls for Apple Boycott | 23 comments (23 topical)

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    The Keystone Feds Strike Again: (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by Mr Natural on Fri Feb 19, 2016 at 11:09:00 PM EST
    SAN MATEO, Calif. -- The ID passcode to the iPhone the FBI wants Apple to hack for information about one of the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorists was changed less than a day after the government gained possession of it, Apple executives said in a phone briefing with reporters Friday afternoon.

    Had the passcode not been changed, Apple said, a backup of the information the government is seeking could have been viewed. It is unclear who changed the Apple ID passcode while it was in the government's possession, the executive said.

    The disclosure was made with a small group of reporters during a 30-minute briefing, including USA TODAY. Apple asked that its executive not be identified because of the sensitive nature of the legal matter.

    - USA Today
    Certainly makes more sense if (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by ruffian on Sat Feb 20, 2016 at 07:06:05 AM EST
    San Berdoo County had the password at first. I'm sure the company I worked for can get into the company-issued phones. I don't have one, but if I did I would assume they knew my password.

    FWIW, The government possession of it mentioned appears to be San Bernadino County, not the FBI.

    In the government's Friday filing, the Justice Department acknowledged that the password was re-set in the hours after the attack by authorities with San Bernardino County. The county owned the phone and provided it to Syed Farook, one of the attackers.

    The county action, the government contends, had the effect of eliminating the possibility of a back-up of the device's contents. The documents also reflect that the government discussed this dilemma with Apple representatives.



    Parent
    I'd bet almost any amount of BTD's football (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Mr Natural on Sat Feb 20, 2016 at 08:19:53 AM EST
    winnings that the county employee didn't "reset" the password.  

    The assertion makes no sense.  If they'd reset the password to a new password, they'd have the new password.  End of story.  They wouldn't need apple's help to do anything.

    My bet is that the County IT "guy" burned the phone down to the ground using all ten tries.  That phone erased itself.  It's empty.

    Parent

    Yeah, that makes sense too (none / 0) (#5)
    by ruffian on Sat Feb 20, 2016 at 03:10:32 PM EST
    I was taking the article at face value that the pw was reset.

    Parent
    So if you attempt to break (none / 0) (#6)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Feb 20, 2016 at 04:52:55 PM EST
    Into an Apple device it will erase itself?

    Parent
    Yes (none / 0) (#7)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Feb 20, 2016 at 05:19:37 PM EST
    It will

    Parent
    Interesting (none / 0) (#8)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Feb 20, 2016 at 06:32:33 PM EST
    We only have one Apple device

    Parent
    It only the iOS8 and above mobile devices (none / 0) (#9)
    by ruffian on Sat Feb 20, 2016 at 06:36:37 PM EST
    Not the desktop and laptop machines.

    Parent
    I think..... (none / 0) (#10)
    by ruffian on Sat Feb 20, 2016 at 06:36:54 PM EST


    Parent
    Thank you (none / 0) (#11)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Feb 20, 2016 at 06:39:45 PM EST
    Handy info to know

    Parent
    I'm going assume that the one device (none / 0) (#12)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Feb 20, 2016 at 06:42:47 PM EST
    We have fits into that category since it did that update and then demanded I come up with a passcode. We never had one on it or needed one on it until just recently. So if anyone tries to break in my Pinterest browsing goes up in IT flames.

    Parent
    Now with the new (none / 0) (#18)
    by fishcamp on Sun Feb 21, 2016 at 05:41:21 PM EST
    iPhones and iPads you only need to register your fingerprint on the 3D off on button and they open.  It's very cool.

    Parent
    Noy quite true (none / 0) (#13)
    by jbindc on Sat Feb 20, 2016 at 08:54:56 PM EST
    They asked the IT person for San Bernadino County to change the iCloud password so more stuff wouldn't go into the cloud. In case someine else had access - not the password on the actual phone.

    Parent
    that would be the Apple ID password (none / 0) (#14)
    by ruffian on Sun Feb 21, 2016 at 06:12:09 AM EST
    No need to hack into the phone to get that.

    Pretty sure what is at issue is the actual phone 4 digit passcode.

    Parent

    Better stated, the Apple ID password isnt (none / 0) (#15)
    by ruffian on Sun Feb 21, 2016 at 06:15:55 AM EST
    Needed to get into the actual phone.  They are trying to bypass the 4 digit code needed to get into the contents of the phone. Apple is. To my knowledge Apple gave them what is in the cloud.

    Parent
    Right (none / 0) (#16)
    by jbindc on Sun Feb 21, 2016 at 06:45:29 AM EST
    It's my understanding they found stuff in the cloud that led them to believe there's more stuff on the phone, which is why they now want the phone ID.

    Parent
    My comment (none / 0) (#17)
    by jbindc on Sun Feb 21, 2016 at 06:47:28 AM EST
    Was because Mr. Natural posted this

    "The ID passcode to the iPhone the FBI wants Apple to hack for information about one of the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorists was changed less than a day after the government gained possession of it, Apple executives said in a phone briefing with reporters Friday afternoon."

    Which is not true, so either the paper reported it badly or the Apple executive was lying.

    Parent

    The Apple Exec has no reason to lie (5.00 / 2) (#19)
    by Mr Natural on Mon Feb 22, 2016 at 05:00:36 AM EST
    A better fit is that the reporter was relating information at third or fourth hand from the original source.  The information would have been passed out of the hands of technical people to their technical bosses up to their bosses and then back down to the spokesmodels whose main skill is looking grim and serious.

    Even stupider, the County was paying for but had never installed mobile device management software.  Had this been in use, we never would have heard about any of this.

    Because of her position at the corporation where she was an executive, my wife's work laptop was subject to multiple subpoenas.  Most of the time they scanned it remotely using MDM type software.  They didn't ask her for passwords.  They didn't need them.  Only twice did she have to physically transfer the laptop so they could image the hard drive.

    Telling the truth is always easier than lying.  There will be internal as well as external investigations all over everything about that case.

    Parent

    Was that the call for boycott that (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by ruffian on Sat Feb 20, 2016 at 06:44:00 AM EST
    he tweeted with his iphone?

    Start with your own campaign and businesses Donald, and maybe we'll think you're serious about it and not just riding the publicity wave.

    It Is My Understanding.... (none / 0) (#20)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Feb 22, 2016 at 10:16:41 AM EST
    ...that all of this could have been avoided had the county used the phone management software they actually paid for.  Apparently it's a departmental decision whether employees should be required to have that software on their phones.

    Passwords can be reset, but the county would know with the software if that had been done.  The article I read, which I can't find today, said that about 60% of businesses who issue phone also pay for the management software.  They did not know how many actually used it.

    My friend who was issued a work iPhone had a special agreement drawn up in which the company doesn't have access to his phone.  He did this because he did not want to carry 2 phones and also wanted to keep his same number, which he will get back should he leave.  Also at work, we have a policy that basically states that IT does not have access to email or our files, even after one leaves.  Same with computers, the first thing they do, it wipe it.  No one can go look at your information even if they wanted to.

    I don't think the privacy issues are as cut and dry as one would think in regards to company owned phones/computers.  I would imagine there is also a huge liability for anyone looking into your personal information, like say going to our Oracle account, which has paycheck info and medical billing history, which can be done if you have access to my computer.
    -----------------------

    But back to the Apple account.  The FBI directed the country to reset the account password, not the phone password, because they wanted to get into the account and turn off the password wipe function on the phone, remotely.  Had they not done that Apple could have gave them access the account I believe.

    Which raises a good question, why can't Apple give them access to the account to turn off the wipe function on the phone.  I know they said once the county reset the PW that could not be done, but why.  Apple doesn't allow their own people access to turn on/off functions on their phone should they accidentally lock themselves out, that seems very odd.

    Also, one can say Trump's opinion is worth a grain of sand, but to Apple I would imagine this is a nightmare.  First they are up against the FBI, and now the most popular republican candidate is calling for a boycott of their products.  All because they don't have the software to remove a security function on their phones.  I would imagine a lot of companies are making sure the Fed can access a phone when it needs to.

    I am a contractor (none / 0) (#21)
    by jbindc on Mon Feb 22, 2016 at 10:38:32 AM EST
    At a federal agency.  I have a government issued phone for my job and just switched in my Blackberry for - you guessed it - an iPhone.  

    Seems to me Apple might have a lot more to lose if the federal government decides they don't want to do business with them because they don't want to cooperate.

    Parent

    That Seems Like a Lot of Leverage... (none / 0) (#22)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Feb 22, 2016 at 03:09:28 PM EST
    ...especially if other jurisdictions follow.  Apple kind of dug themselves a deep hole and I don't think going to the public was the best decision.

    Parent
    I'm an avid Apple person. (none / 0) (#23)
    by fishcamp on Tue Feb 23, 2016 at 08:42:49 AM EST
    Yesterday I went down to the Key West authorized Apple Store with my frozen screen trusty iMac, to find out they don't make parts for 2009 computers anymore.  It's going to the special computer landfill.  My old taped together MacBook Pro is still barely going.  The tech said it was about gone.  So I bought a new, refurbished MBP with one terabyte of hard drive space.  Both the old computers info is being downloaded into the new one.  I never could get them exactly the same, so now they'll be on one expensive device.  My iPhone was another story.  I had tried more than ten times to change the iPhone password, not the four digit one, but the actual phone password.  It was frozen into some möbius loop and took the Apple guy over an hour with the Apple people to unravel it.  He finally was told to erase the phone and download the info from the cloud, where I had fortunately backed it up.  KW is a nightmare of crowds when cruise ships are in, so I'm skipping a day, even though the new one is ready now, and going down mañana.  Many strange languages down there.  Our waitress at the Half Shell Raw Bar was from Romania.  Tomorrow I'll just pick up my stuff and head home, possibly stopping in Big Pine Key where the tiny Key deer live, to have my daily fish sandwich near calmer waters.  I live 75 miles from KW, and it's a tricky drive on an old two lane highway.

    Trump Calls for Apple Boycott | 23 comments (23 topical)

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