It's good to know that Apple's announcement that it would be adding end-to-end encryption for iCloud data (such as device backups, messages, and photos) is deeply troubling to the FBI. That means it really works!
From Mac Rumors:
iCloud end-to-end encryption, or what Apple calls "Advanced Data Protection," encrypts users' data stored in iCloud, meaning only a trusted device can decrypt and read the data. iCloud data in accounts with Advanced Data Protection can only be read by a trusted device, not Apple, law enforcement, or government entities.
Following its announcements, the EFF or Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group that has long-called for Apple to enable end-to-end encryption and take more steps to safeguard user privacy, put out a statement applauding the new feature and Apple's renewed commitment to privacy.
We applaud Apple for listening to experts, child advocates, and users who want to protect their most sensitive data. Encryption is one of the most important tools we have for maintaining privacy and security online. That's why we included the demand that Apple let users encrypt iCloud backups in the Fix It Already campaign that we launched in 2019.
The FBI isn't nearly as happy about Apple's privacy-positive move. In a statement to The Washington Post, it said it is "deeply concerned with the threat end-to-end and user-only-access encryption pose."
This hinders our ability to protect the American people from criminal acts ranging from cyber-attacks and violence against children to drug trafficking, organized crime, and terrorism. In this age of cybersecurity and demands for "security by design," the FBI and law enforcement partners need "lawful access by design."
The trouble with "lawful access by design" is that the FBI still hasn't shaken the paranoid style of its beloved leader, the notoriously corrupt J. Edgar Hoover. It has a long history of illegally spying on Americans and not getting in trouble when they get caught doing so. They can't be trusted to do the right thing, so end-to-end encryption is necessary until they learn to behave themselves.
