In a short time encryption of data on all Android-powered devices will cease to be selective and will become mandatory for each user. Now all devices running the upcoming version of Android will ask the user to create a password to encrypt its data at the first turn on the phone, and to avoid this step is no longer possible.
The aim of Google – to make sure that all information on the phone or tablet running Android was password protected and would be inaccessible to all but its owner. In the first place, according to representatives of Google, it should complicate the process of gathering information about users of the secret services.
However, most likely, this is just a response to the actions of Apple. The fact that the encryption function exist on Android for more than three years, but it was included on request. However, in the wake of another surge of anxiety on the integrity of user data, which occurred after the network flowed private photos of Hollywood stars, Apple CEO Tim Cook took the correction of the company’s image. The first step in this direction was the mandatory encryption of user data in iOS8. And Google had no choice but to do the same.
It is also noteworthy that this happened a day after Tim Cook, broke sharply criticized on how IT-companies in Silicon Valley are treated personal information of its customers. In his open letter, Cook said that Apple has chosen a new privacy policy user data is fundamentally different from that of other companies in the first place – the policy of Google. According to Cook, Apple did not collect information about users of the browser history or e-mail, and will not sell it to advertisers. In other words, does not do than by the scheme of the monetization of Google.
In addition, Cook said that the new system of mandatory encryption, user information, such as photos, messages, mail, contacts, call history , notes and content from iTunes, are protected by a password, which can not get around, even at Apple. And to provide this information secret services have on their hands the device under iOS8 and the corresponding order, Apple can not for technical reasons. However, as noted by the Verge, then Tim Cook disingenuous, without specifying that control the user data, of course, possible. Apple’s website has a page that describes the principles of cooperation with law enforcement agencies, which states that the security services are now just need to bring yourself iPhone, iPod or iPad directly to the Apple headquarters in Cupertino. In other words, the secret services would be more difficult for remote wiretap, but the presence of the suspect device, decrypt the data will not be difficult.
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In a recent interview with Wired former CIA and NSA, Edward Snowden, shared new details regarding the work of the security services on the international scene. According to him, for the shutdown of the Internet in Syria in the midst of civil war, the government stood not, as previously thought, and the error was the operational arm of the United States NSA.
On Thursday, November 29, 2012, hackers from the group Tailored Access Operations tried to remotely install an exploit on one of the main router’s largest Internet service provider in Syria. This exploit was to give the NSA access to Internet traffic most of the Syrian citizens, and in particular – to their e-mail correspondence. But during the installation of spyware something went wrong, and the router is engaged in the distribution of Internet traffic of the country suddenly stopped responding. As it turned out, he was completely worn out. As a result, all Syria suddenly lost all connection to the Internet. According to Snowden, hackers TAO desperately trying to fix a broken their router remotely to hide traces of their presence and remove spyware that same program, but to no avail – the router does not respond. From the words of Snowden, in this moment of panic hackers in the command center Tailored Access Operations were only able to defuse the situation with a joke: “If we get caught, we say that it was Israel” “
Fortunately for the NSA, the Syrians were more passionate about restoring the connection to the Internet, rather than causes of the problem, and the incident no one, except for the NSA, he still had not learned.
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