For those who have been off-planet and haven’t heard the news, Apple’s iOS 8 encrypts the contents of users’ iPhone and iPads in such a way that only the user—not Apple—can access it. That means that Apple can no longer respond to warrants from law enforcement asking that they unlock users’ data1.
Naturally, law enforcement is upset. Very upset. There’s the usual punditry about pedophiles and “think of the children” but Christopher Soghoian reminds us that they always say this sort of thing
The Michigan Supreme Court, 1922: Cars are tools for robbery, rape, murder, enabling silent approach + swift escape. pic.twitter.com/li1fnij8Xq
— Christopher Soghoian (@csoghoian) September 26, 2014
UPDATE: The Macalope has a roundup of the idiocy about this issue.
Footnotes:
At least that data not stored in iCloud, which Apple can access and is legally obliged to turn over when presented with a warrant.