- The United Kingdom has renewed demands for Apple to give authorities access to encrypted iCloud backups of UK-based users.
- This move could impact major crypto wallets that allow users to store encrypted private key backups in iCloud, raising Cybersecurity concerns.
- Critics, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, warn that any backdoor solution could expose users to greater risks of Hacking and identity theft.
- An earlier request from the UK required Apple to either create a backdoor or block end-to-end encryption features in the UK.
- Privacy activists and crypto leaders point out that backdoors intended for law enforcement can weaken overall data security for everyone.
The United Kingdom recently ordered Apple to allow access to the encrypted iCloud backups of British users. The government says this is needed for law enforcement investigations and is only targeting UK-based accounts.
According to the Financial Times, this request is different from earlier demands, which sought a broader ability to view any encrypted material. The change still caused worry among data security advocates.
Several mobile wallets, such as Coinbase Wallet, Uniswap Wallet, Zerion, crypto.com DeFi Wallet, and MetaMask, let users store encrypted private key backups in iCloud. If these files become accessible, attackers could use brute-force methods to try many password combinations. The safety of users then depends heavily on their password strength.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation raised concerns about the UK’s move, saying “this is still an unsettling overreach that makes U.K. users less safe and less free… any backdoor built for the government puts everyone at greater risk of hacking, identity theft, and fraud.” Earlier this year, the UK had issued a Technical Capability Notice under its Investigatory Powers Act, which pressured Apple to create a backdoor or block its Advanced Data Protection feature, which provides end-to-end encryption for iCloud. While a U.S. intelligence official later said that the UK dropped the request, the encryption feature stayed unavailable for UK users.
Privacy in the crypto space has roots in activism. The early Bitcoin community, known as cypherpunks, strongly opposed government limits on cryptography. Recently, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin criticized proposed EU rules that would scan messages for illegal content before encryption. He argued that such backdoors could be hacked and would reduce everyone’s safety. Groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation have repeated warnings that adding government access makes all users less secure.
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