October 8th, 2024

Chinese hack shows why Apple is right about backdoors for law enforcement

Chinese hackers infiltrated AT&T, Lumen, and Verizon, compromising law enforcement wiretap backdoors. The breach, linked to China's Ministry of State Security, raises significant national security concerns and validates Apple's stance against backdoors.

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Chinese hack shows why Apple is right about backdoors for law enforcement

Chinese hackers have successfully infiltrated the systems of three major U.S. internet service providers (ISPs)—AT&T, Lumen, and Verizon—compromising security backdoors intended for law enforcement wiretaps. This breach, attributed to the Chinese government, particularly the Ministry of State Security's Salt Typhoon group, potentially allowed unauthorized access to sensitive communication data. Experts, including former officials from the Department of Homeland Security, have described the incident as an espionage campaign with significant implications for national security. The attack underscores Apple's long-standing position against creating backdoors in its devices, as it argues that such vulnerabilities can be exploited by malicious actors. Apple previously resisted the FBI's requests for backdoor access to iPhones, asserting that any backdoor would ultimately compromise user security. The recent hack serves as a real-world example of the risks associated with backdoor implementations, reinforcing the notion that encryption systems must be fully secure to prevent exploitation.

- Chinese hackers accessed U.S. ISPs' systems, compromising law enforcement wiretap backdoors.

- The breach is linked to China's Ministry of State Security and is considered an espionage campaign.

- Experts warn of significant national security risks due to the hack.

- Apple’s refusal to create backdoors for its devices is validated by this incident.

- The situation highlights the inherent dangers of implementing backdoors in encryption systems.

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Link Icon 2 comments
By @quantified - 6 months
This is coming from 9to5mac, which is Apple-focused. But it might be fair for it to include a mention that pretty much every security expert says the same thing.
By @talldayo - 6 months
Until they sheepishly admit to implementing and hiding covert systems that provide exactly that at the behest of law enforcement: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/apple-admits-to-...

Apple is quite the fairweather friend when it comes to security.