While the controversy continues between the FBI and Apple, we thought it would be interesting to highlight some of the things Tim Cook said in his letter to Apple’s customers about encryption. We particularly liked his stance on the need for encryption captioned below:
“Smartphones, led by iPhone, have become an essential part of our lives. People use them to store an incredible amount of personal information, from our private conversations to our photos, our music, our notes, our calendars and contacts, our financial information and health data, even where we have been and where we are going. All that information needs to be protected from hackers and criminals who want to access it, steal it, and use it without our knowledge or permission. Customers expect Apple and other technology companies to do everything in our power to protect their personal information, and at Apple we are deeply committed to safeguarding their data. Compromising the security of our personal information can ultimately put our personal safety at risk. That is why encryption has become so important to all of us. For many years, we have used encryption to protect our customers’ personal data because we believe it’s the only way to keep their information safe. We have even put that data out of our own reach, because we believe the contents of your iPhone are none of our business.”
We think it’s necessary to inform ourselves on how encryption works and why it even exists. Ultimately, this would help us understand the current climate surrounding the issue. It’s very easy to be on one side or the other. Encryption, just like a lot of technology out there, both helps us and hinders us. It just so happens that tragic things must happen in order for light to be shed on the topic. We are writing this blog to encourage our readers to inform themselves on encryption technology. We believe an informed society can make better decisions for our future.