The legal battle between Apple and the government is taking nasty turns.
The legal battle between the Silicon Valley tech titan and the most influential government of the world – company’s homeland – is accelerating in quick pace. According to the most recent filing, authorities indicated that they intend to ask for the “source code” and the “signing key” from Apple Inc.
If the government could gain the access of the aforementioned things, then it can easily develop one of its spying software and deceive the users of iPhone into installing it on their devices. In this way, a user will not be able to segregate whether the software they have been using is the one authorized by Apple or the fabricated version issued by the government in order to spy on the people.
On the matter, the technology and security experts have expressed that if the U.S. government could grab the intended source code, then eventually other governments would ask the company to do the same for them. Center for Democracy & Technology’s chief technologist, Joseph Lorenzo Hall expressed that the government acquisition of the source code would be “pretty terrible.”
In February, the legal battle between Justice Department of U.S. and the Cupertino Calif. firm began when the tech company challenged the court orders of writing new software in order to provide assistance to the law enforcement officials to unlock the iPhone 5C used by one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino attacks, which reportedly killed around 14 people.
In its defense, the company strongly opposed the court order expressing that by complying through the orders, the company will put the security of many users at risk. Moreover, the Silicon Valley business cited that this would also build a precedent that will allow the judges to create demands of private companies.
The comments of the DOJ came as a footnote to a filing made last week. The department has already rejected the iPhone maker’s prior arguments. On Tuesday, the tech titan is expected to record a statement in response to the Justice Department brief.
The lawyers of the DOJ expressed that they had initially avoided asking for the iOS source code because they believe “such a request would be less palatable to Apple. If Apple would prefer that course, however, that may provide an alternative that requires less labor by Apple.”
The recent demand of the government has opened a “nuclear option,” which refers to the government looking for the power to require and use the most valued assets of the technology companies. Sources privy to the matter told Reuters that the DOJ is not proposing to snatch the source code of the company while a source favoring Apple expressed that neither the tech giant is worried from the threats posed by the government. People following the case have expressed that it is more than likely that the case will be brought up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Earlier as well, the source code had been demanded instead of asking for the code production. In fact, in a legal battle between Apple and the rival Samsung, the tech titan received the permission of reviewing the code of Samsung, which was allowed under a lot of protection and the strictest rules so that the sensitive data is not copied.
Tuesday’s brief will further unveil how the company responded to the government’s latest demand.
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