> What the court is ordering Apple to do, security experts say, does not require the company to crack its own encryption, which the company says it cannot do in any case. Instead, the order requires Apple to create a piece of software that takes advantage of a capability that Apple alone possesses to modify the permanently installed “firmware” on iPhones and iPads, changing it so that investigators can try unlimited guesses at the terror suspect’s PIN code with high-powered computers. Once investigators get the PIN, they get the data.
I don't think there's much difference between a backdoor and that. A backdoor can be "just a vulnerability", and that's what the FBI is asking Apple to create - a vulnerability in its security system.
It's kind of like saying "we don't want Apple to break its AES-GCM encryption, we just want it to replace it with RC4." Or "we only want Apple to support export crypto protocols as well, so we can downgrade to them when we do our attacks".
Whether we call it a "backdoor" or "vulnerability" or "just don't make it that secure" thing, the end result is the same. The FBI wants Apple to weaken its security, and that weaker security can and will be exploited by malicious actors, too (even if you're assuming it won't be abused by the FBI and the police itself, which of course it will be).
I don't think there's much difference between a backdoor and that. A backdoor can be "just a vulnerability", and that's what the FBI is asking Apple to create - a vulnerability in its security system.
It's kind of like saying "we don't want Apple to break its AES-GCM encryption, we just want it to replace it with RC4." Or "we only want Apple to support export crypto protocols as well, so we can downgrade to them when we do our attacks".
Whether we call it a "backdoor" or "vulnerability" or "just don't make it that secure" thing, the end result is the same. The FBI wants Apple to weaken its security, and that weaker security can and will be exploited by malicious actors, too (even if you're assuming it won't be abused by the FBI and the police itself, which of course it will be).