This seems a bit disingenuous to me. If I understand it correctly, they are saying that the messages are encrypted using an RSA key unique to the sender, and that this is not secure because Apple could, if they wanted to or were ordered to, replace the certificates with ones that were not secret:
> Since Apple controls the entire infrastructure, there's nothing preventing company employees from swapping out the proper keys with ones controlled by Apple or other parties.
What is misleading here is that (if I understand it correctly) the cryptography is solid, it is the implementation being owned by Apple that raises the doubt. But this is NOT a statement about the cryptography used on the iMessages, it is a statement about the fact that Apple effectively has "root access" to their phones.
Imagine that you had a PERFECT and UNBREAKABLE code system. Perhaps it interfaces with angles who alter the laws of the universe to prevent anyone but the intended recipient from reading the messages. Such a system would still have the same vulnerability. All Apple needs to do is to alter the phone so that when you click on the icon to launch this perfectly secure messaging app it instead launches one that has the same UI but which actually sends a duplicate to the NSA (or whoever it is you don't want listening in).
ANY system where code can be deployed at will and the owner of the device is not in full control of the device will have this same level of vulnerability. Saying that a system is insecure because you could change the system doesn't tell you anything interesting about the system.
> Since Apple controls the entire infrastructure, there's nothing preventing company employees from swapping out the proper keys with ones controlled by Apple or other parties.
What is misleading here is that (if I understand it correctly) the cryptography is solid, it is the implementation being owned by Apple that raises the doubt. But this is NOT a statement about the cryptography used on the iMessages, it is a statement about the fact that Apple effectively has "root access" to their phones.
Imagine that you had a PERFECT and UNBREAKABLE code system. Perhaps it interfaces with angles who alter the laws of the universe to prevent anyone but the intended recipient from reading the messages. Such a system would still have the same vulnerability. All Apple needs to do is to alter the phone so that when you click on the icon to launch this perfectly secure messaging app it instead launches one that has the same UI but which actually sends a duplicate to the NSA (or whoever it is you don't want listening in).
ANY system where code can be deployed at will and the owner of the device is not in full control of the device will have this same level of vulnerability. Saying that a system is insecure because you could change the system doesn't tell you anything interesting about the system.