Remember back when about the Fed’s NOT being able to get Apple Computer to unlock some iPhones?
Apple said ‘NO’….
Loud and Clear so people with their phones could hear it…
At the time I and others did NOT accept the idea that the FBI or NSA couldn’t get into a smart phone….
Turn out we where right….
An Israeli outfit , The NSO Group supplies not only the Fed’s , but state and local cops with software that can read just about ANY DATA flying thru the air or online…
Now?
Apple is going after the company to….. hold NSO Group and its parent company OSY Technologies “accountable for the surveillance and targeting of Apple users”…..
The suit is likely to go nowhere ….
Not when the government uses it to ‘catch people that might be doing illegal stuff that could hurt people ‘….
And this action isn’t gonna stop other countries either…
The idea that ANYTHING on the internet is private is a fantasy….
iPhones included….
Apple prides itself on its privacy. It’s a major selling point for its devices.
So it’s not totally surprising that a company that has allegedly sought to bypass Apple security features might antagonise the giant.
That’s not the only reason Apple is making a stand though.
Not all hackers are considered equals. NSO Group has government clients, or as Apple puts it, is “state-sponsored”.
NSO claims it only works with agencies with good human rights records.
In that way the company has tried to distinguish itself from underground hackers doing nefarious activities.
By suing NSO Group Apple is rejecting that distinction.
Apple is making the point that it doesn’t matter who you are, if you’re a group trying to hack into an Apple product they’ll take action – whatever the motives.
But there’s a bit more depth to it than that.
Apple will feel it’s easier, and more politically palatable, to sue a private company, rather than the governments who are allegedly using the tech….
Note…
Remember….
NSO is providing a ‘service’ to governments that actually ‘own’ the internet service within their border and THEM can and WILL set the rules on the passage of that service , including having the ability to snoop on it….