UK government demands access to Apple users' encrypted data

Specifically, British authorities have asked Apple to create a “backdoor” system in its encrypted cloud storage service, allowing the British government to collect highly confidential data from Apple users, the Washington Post reported on February 7.

The request, made by the UK Home Office in January, invokes the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), which requires companies to help provide evidence to law enforcement.

The UK’s latest move could lead to conflicts and disputes with Apple and tech companies in general, over user privacy and security. London wants access to Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) service, which stores users’ personal data in the cloud. ADP uses end-to-end encryption, so only the account owner can unlock and access the data.

Apple has not commented on the latest move by the British government. However, in a submission to the British Parliament last year, the US technology company expressed concerns about the IPA, saying it would allow the government to secretly issue orders requiring service providers to create methods of accessing user data without the data owner’s knowledge.

Apple asserts that privacy is one of its core values, adding that the ADP service “has been hailed by journalists and technical experts as an invaluable safeguard for private data.”

Alan Woodward, a professor of cybersecurity at the University of Surrey in the UK, said the debate over encryption seemed endless and each side had its own arguments. If Apple accepted the offer from the British government, it would destroy its reputation, The Guardian quoted Mr. Woodward as saying.

Apple has left open the possibility of refusing to cooperate and possibly removing key security features from the UK market, but this would not satisfy the demands of the government, which also wants access to data on users active in other countries. It is unclear what the UK will do if Apple does not cooperate as requested.