From Friday, ICLOUD users in the United Kingdom can no longer activate the protection of advanced data (ADP) with end -to -end encryption. Those who already had this function must deactivate it in the future. The surprising measure comes after British government pressure For Apple to integrate a rear door in its cloud storage service, a decision that could compromise the privacy of users around the world.
A key security feature. End -to -end encryption, known as E2EE in English, is considered the most private and sure network communication method. The data is encrypted and deciphered only in the authorized devices, that is, they travel online safely, so that if someone managed to intercept them, they would find a lot of intelligible text product of the cryptographic masking used.
Messaging applications such as WhatsApp or Signal and cloud services like ICloud They offer this security feature. If it is correctly implemented, this means that not even the companies that control these services have the ability to spy our conversations or files. And this also applies to governments and security services, which will not be able to access these data even with the corresponding judicial orders.
United Kingdom demand. The Washington Post published An article on February 7 in which he assured that British security services had required Apple to create a rear door in ICloud. In other words, the implementation of a mechanism that allowed them to avoid advanced service measures to access private files. It was a controversial measure that did not distinguish the location of the users.
Immediate reaction in the US. Although the alleged contact between the United Kingdom and Apple developed privately, the reports of the aforementioned American newspaper lit several alarms on the other side of the ocean. Several congressmen sent a letter American Intelligence Director, Tulsi Gabbard, alleging a threat to emerging security and privacy from the United Kingdom and urging measures.
Apple’s response. Weeks after the matter came to light, Apple has made an unprecedented decision. In a statement sent on Friday to Xataka, the Cupertino company said it has never implemented a back door in its products and services, and that they will never. In addition, he detailed the measures he would take with Icloud in the United Kingdom. As of today, affected users can no longer activate the security function that ends end -to -end encryption on the platform.
“Apple can no longer offer advanced data protection (ADP) in the United Kingdom to new users and current users of the United Kingdom will eventually have to deactivate this security function,” Apple said. “We are deeply disappointed that the protections provided by ADP are not available for our clients in the United Kingdom given the continuous increase in data violations and other threats to customer privacy,” he added in the email.
ADP, an optional measure. Although end -to -end encryption is activated by default in services such as WhatsApp and Signal, in ICLOUD it is an optional measure (although certain sensitive data such as saved passwords and data from the health and maps apps are protected by default). UK users could activate it from the settings of their profile to keep the security of their information to the next level.
With the disappearance of ADP in the United Kingdom, British users who want to protect their information from possible indiscreet looks should resort to prior methods to 2022, when Apple implemented their advanced security system. That is, making local backups or using other trusted services. Now, it remains to be seen how the British authorities will respond to this movement.
Images | Apple | Screen capture
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