First Blog

Many of you read that the FBI had an edge up on decrypting messages from the San Bernardino shooters.  It was reported that certain graphics could be decrypted.  Well and good.  See, http://used-ideas.blogspot.com/2016/03/messages-from-san-bernardino-shooters.html We were skeptical.  Now we see that the FBI did crack the Apple phone encryption without the help of Apple. Whew! An independent firm helped the FBI, we are told.  This is ridiculous.  Why?  Because if such decryption were possible within just a couple of months, it would have been done many more months sooner.  One could guess that Apple leaked information to Party A who in turn notified Party B, who then helped the FBI.  Apple's reputation is preserved.  Whew! What's next?  We may see is an announcement from Apple is that they have beefed up their iPhone security - maybe in the next upgrade.  They need to do this!  If Apple was using anything close to, say RSA security, the encryption would be impossible to dec

The FBI has now announced, and announced, and announced they may have a way to access the encrypted iPhone messages of the San Bernardino shooters, without the help of Apple.  Who cares? Mostly Apple customers.  Apple has a totally vested interest in maintaining security for their would-be customers. Help the FBI, and you help yourself out of business.  But then come some cryptic announcement from Johns Hopkins that they can penetrate encrypted graphics.  According to the Washington Post, a team of researchers led by Johns Hopkins University computer scientist Matthew Green has poked a hole in Apple's iMessage encryption software.  The FBI now claims it may no longer needs the help of Apple. Fantastic.  Decrypting images is somewhat different, but entirely similar, to decrypting messages, but the cat is out of the bag.  This tacitly makes it OK to for Apple to help the government.  And maybe they have done just that with a clever cover provided by an external agent.  What a

According to an article in the LA Times, Apple will oppose a judicial order to help FBI unlock the phone belonging to San Bernardino shooter.  This brings up an interesting conundrum.  First, the encryption programs currently in use are all but unbreakable with current technology.  The method, perhaps RSA, depends on extremely secure mathematical methods for which the amount of time to crack exceeds the capacity all current technology.  It can be assumed the terrorists used such technology.   (Heck, you can download it.  PGP is an example.) We have heard of current terrorists "going dark," which means they are using such technology.  All this is well known.  The FBI knows it, the NSA knows it, and all security agencies world-wide know it. So why is the Fed going after Apple?  Second, why are the Feds coming after Apple?  There are only a couple of reasons, one of which they are simply grandstanding a play to reveal they are still looking. Another is that Apply has built