thecrimeshop

Government Bullying in the US

The Strong Arm Vs. Encryption

Here are some recent headlines:

US to continue to appeal of iPhone data case in New York – VentureBeat

FBI’s Security Gaming in Hacking iPhone Does Not Justify Low Reward – Stanford Political Journal

Draft of US Encryption Bill Leaks Online, Is Incredibly Stupid – Softpedia

Apple-FBI Encryption Battle Shifts to New York – <re/code>

The New Encryption Bill isn’t Finished and Silicon Valley Already Hates it <re/code>

FBI director: We bought ‘a tool’ to hack terrorist’s iPhone – CNN

Your WhatsApp secrets are safe now. But Big Brother is still watching you – theguardian

FBI Admits They Can’t Hack New IOS Devices – Leaf and Core

This list could go on and on and become rather exhaustive, the point is, we have a Government who isn’t happy about Encryption. Unless you have been living under a rock the past few years this is not new news. On the other side of the coin, we have a media who seems to be hellbent stirring the pot.

Take these two headlines for example:

Leaked Senate encryption bill called ‘ludicrous, dangerous’ by security experts – appleinsider

Congress could force Apple to build an iPhone backdoor – Mashable

If one is paying special attention however, the media in this case is not just stirring the pot, it is attempting to drive home a point and it’s a pretty significant point. If the Government, any branch of our illustrious Government wins the right to force Apple or any other company to create backdoors to encryption, we as a people, as a whole, lose one important thing. We lose the right to privacy.

In other countries Governments do not afford citizens the privacy that we are afforded here in America. Our ancestors came here to get away from bullshit like that. Sorry to be blunt but why beat around the bush and be pretty about it?

Here is the where the fine line gets crossed. Our Government stretching it’s strong arm and bitch slapping Apple from across the table and forcing them to abide by the wishes of our Government. Apple didn’t break the law, what Apple has done is give it’s customers a peace of mind, they protect us and our information from criminals. Apple does not design its products with the idea of protecting some thug criminal. Yet another shining example of a branch of US government acting like a petulant child not getting it’s way.

For those of you that read my piece about the FBI-Apple argument, while I believe I was fair in my assessment of both, I still stand by what I said. Apple has every right to tell the FBI no and the FBI has every right to find another party to help them unlock the iPhone.

As luck were to have it, the FBI did just that. The reason the FBI, CIA, Congress the Senate, etc. are struggling with encryption is because it allows users to hide information.  The reason so many support it is because it keeps our information safe.

If our Government proceeds, sadly they only prove the point of Edward Snowden, which I am sure is the last thing they really want to accomplish.

Now do I believe they will spy on all of us? Hell no. I just don’t believe they have a right to order any company to allow them to have a way in so to speak. If they want that, they should maybe consider learning how to attract, hire and retain the right types of individuals that can get them to that point much like companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Tesla …just to name a few.

For those of you that do follow my blog, you can skip this part because I say this quite a bit. Just like with criminal investigation, our Government has an outdated way of hiring, profiling, the judicial system, policing, spying, investigations, etc. You get the idea. Just because you are not given your way or don’t like something, it does not afford you the right to stomp your feet, have a tantrum and force someone to do something your way. The judicial system sends people to jail for this very same mindset so why in the hell should any branch of our Government be allowed to behave in such a manner?

If the Government doesn’t like the results, they should practice in the art of getting up off of their asses and doing something productive, not counterproductive, manipulative and destructive about it. Hire the right individuals that would perhaps be of a more equal match to that of individuals at top tech companies around the world, top developers around the world etc.

Hence, our Government would win more support should it learn to better match itself to the intellect of the companies and the public they are going up against rather than utilize its strong arm as a way to force its beliefs, wants, needs and desires onto others.

Cristal M Clark

@thecrimeshop

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