As I said in my last post, I’m planning to write a bit about some of the technical aspects of Apple’s CSAM scanning project. Happily, Apple listened to the avalanche of criticism and put their plans on hold. I hope this hiatus will be permanent but it probably won’t be. Irreal will never accept any surveillance system that runs on individual phones. Apple can, of course, do what they like on their own servers but they better stay out of my phone because it’s, you know, mine not theirs.
After their initial announcement and the furious reaction it provoked, Apple got busy assuring everyone that their system was perfectly safe and respected privacy. The second assertion is, of course, false on its face but the first is almost certainly false too. My upcoming post will address some of the reasons why the system isn’t as secure as apple claims but if you’re completely unfamiliar with how the system is supposed to operate, Josip Rezić has a useful post that gives an overview of Apple’s system. The best resource is, of course, Apple’s own technical summary, which is longer and has more technical details. It’s definitely accessible so is also worth reading for an understanding of how the proposed system would operate.
If you own an iPhone or are just concerned with Corporate/Government surveillance, you have a stake in this controversy and should familiarize yourself with what’s going on. Every single proposal like this needs to be resisted and beaten back.