Why Apple vs.

FBI might be the worst cybersecurity dilemma ever | PBS NewsHour

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Why Apple vs. FBI might be the worst cybersecurity

dilemma ever
BY VIKRAM MANSHARAMANI March 11, 2016 at 8:00 AM EDT

Given the critical importance of both cybersecurity and national security, prioritizing one over the other is no trivial
task, writes Vikram Mansharamani Image by Brian Klug via Flickr

Earlier this week, MIT welcomed a distinguished guest to speak as part of its Internet Policy
Research Initiative: Robert Hannigan, director of GCHQ, Britains version of the National Security
Agency. Extending an olive branch to a fiercely skeptical audience, Hannigan tried to clarify the
elusive balance between cybersecurity and national security when it comes to encryption.
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His talk in Cambridge took place amid a raging legal battle between Apple and the FBI regarding
the tech giants refusal to unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters.
The FBI needs Apple to modify the operating system on the attackers phone so that it can gain
access to its contents; without doing so, the phones contents would be automatically erased
a!er 10 failed attempts to guess the shooters password. By circumventing this automatic selfdestruct mechanism, an Apple-written backdoor to the device would enable the FBI to gain
access to the phone by trying every possible password.
Apple argues that the FBI is imposing an
unfair burden on the company and is
violating its right to freedom of speech. Its
relying on prior cases in which so!ware code
has been deemed a form of speech. Major
tech firms including Google, Amazon,

Silicon Valley fears that a ruling

favorable to the FBI would set a
precedent that ultimately
undermines the tech industrys
ability to secure its products.

Facebook and Microso! have lined up in

support of their traditional rival.
Silicon Valley fears that a ruling favorable to the FBI would set a precedent that ultimately
undermines the tech industrys ability to secure its products. Given that any backdoor access
available to law enforcement might be exploited for nefarious purposes, customers might grow
wary of using these devices. Ultimately, the move could undermine both the industrys and the
countrys economic interests.
The GCHQ director stressed he did not come to o"er a panacea to such dilemmas. Instead,
Hannigan argued, solutions would have to be diverse and dynamic to address di"erent contexts
and shi!ing circumstances.
In a controversy that o!en is framed as a binary (privacy vs. security, backdoor vs. locked), he
suggested all involved might benefit from looking beyond a simplified black and white
characterization. Engineers asking questions a!er his talk seemed fiercely skeptical. One
cryptographer asked why he shouldnt include Britains spy agency in his threat model, given
allegations of abuses. Another attendee questioned the directors assertion that TOR, an
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anonymous networking tool, was predominantly used by criminals. A third expressed

skepticism toward the British courts Orwellian distinction between bulk collection and bulk
surveillance.

Edward Snowden speaks to The Guardian newspaper. Handout photo from The Guardian

The lively debate was a testament to the increased public scrutiny heaped on spying agencies
since Booz Allen Hamilton contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents detailing the
practices of the NSA and GCHQ. Although many had suspected the scale of these surveillance
e"orts was enormous in part thanks to earlier whistleblowers like William Binney and
Thomas Drake Snowdens files drew public attention to the tension between privacy and
large-scale information gathering in the name of security. But how can we debate the tradeo"s
between the cybersecurity of individual devices and our national security interests? Arent both
important?
The case of the San Bernardino shooters
iPhone has highlighted the intractability of
this predicament more clearly than ever.

Given the critical importance of

both cybersecurity and national

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Why Apple vs. FBI might be the worst cybersecurity dilemma ever | PBS NewsHour

Given the critical importance of both

cybersecurity and national security,

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security, prioritizing one over

the other is no trivial task.

prioritizing one over the other is no trivial

task. Indeed, FBI Director James Comey said it was the the hardest question Ive seen in
government, and Hillary Clinton called it the worst dilemma ever. Clearly, there are no easy or
obvious answers.
Apple supporters argue that mandating restrictions on security would endanger those that rely
on the encryption, including journalists and activists in foreign countries. Indeed, as Bloomberg
View columnist Eli Lake has pointed out, the U.S. government has helped develop and spread
user-friendly encryption technologies for precisely this reason to support dissidents from
China to Russia. Critics argue that such strong encryption enables criminals to communicate
without fear of detection.
Given the situations complexity, the GCHQ directors call for open, calm, nuanced public
dialogue appears sound. Whenever participants in a debate frame problems in black and white
and call for silver bullet resolutions, its best to summon the most potent superpower we
humans have: empathy. Its essential that we try to see and feel the perspectives of those with
whom we disagree.
It may well turn out, as advocates of tech firms suggest, that there is an unacceptable security
tradeo" in accommodating law enforcements demands. But its also possible the opposite is
true might technology prevent law enforcement from ensuring our safety? So before you dig
your heels in to a position and defend it at all costs, try to see the world di"erently.
Are you in the privacy camp, defending cybersecurity
at all costs? How would you feel if you had family
members killed in the San Bernardino attack? Or if

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We humans tend to prefer clearly defined and certain situations rather than more ambiguous
ones. Seeing the world through the eyes of those with whom we disagree is one way to
appreciate complexities. Indeed, adopting multiple perspectives may o"er our best hope for
finding common ground. When it comes to cybersecurity, privacy and national security, doing so
may lead us, as Hannigan suggested, to a hodgepodge of partial, diverse and impermanent
solutions. As unsatisfying as that may seem, it may be the best we can hope for at this point in
time.
Taking a step back, analyzing the situation from multiple perspectives and empathizing with
those with whom we disagree is the best chance we have to tackle this and the many other
conundrums we will increasingly face in the hyperconnected 21st century.
Vikram Mansharamani
Vikram Mansharamani is a lecturer in the Program on Ethics, Politics & Economics at Yale
University and a senior fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and
Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is also the author of Boombustology:
Spotting Financial Bubbles Before They Burst and is a regular commentator in the
financial and business media.

! @mansharamani

"

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