US national security director condemns UK request for Apple data ‘backdoor’ | US news

The new US director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, weighed in on the encryption feud between Apple and the UK on Wednesday. In a letter to British lawmakers on Wednesday, she wrote that the UK government’s order for Apple to create a “backdoor” to iCloud users’ accounts is a “clear and egregious violation of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties”.

“Any information sharing between a government – any government – and private companies must be done in a manner that respects and protects the U.S. law and the Constitutional rights of U.S. citizens,” Gabbard wrote.

Gabbard’s letter comes after the US senator Ron Wyden and the representative Andy Biggs sent her a letter on 13 February with their concerns about what such a demand would mean for US residents’ online safety and privacy. Gabbard echoed their worries, saying that the order would “open up a serious vulnerability for cyber exploitation by adversarial actors” and could violate a bilateral agreement between the US and the UK.

News of the UK government’s order first surfaced earlier this month when the Washington Post reported that the Home Office had issued a “technical capability notice” under the Investigatory Powers Act, which requires companies to help British law enforcement uncover evidence in investigations. The government demanded Apple build a backdoor into its cloud service that would allow access to people’s iCloud accounts, even when their information was encrypted.

In response, Apple removed its encryption feature altogether. The company said it had been given no choice and that it was disappointed at being forced to eliminate Advanced Data Protection. Apple has made a point of publicly fighting back against government requests for user data. It famously refused to create a backdoor for the FBI related to a terror attack in San Bernardino, California, in 2015.

Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment.

In her letter, Gabbard said she was not aware of the UK government’s order until it was reported on in the media. She said that she’s requested her counterparts in various US security agencies, including the CIA, FBI and NSA, provide insights into UK’s actions. She added that US national security lawyers are working on a legal opinion about the implications of such a demand.

The US and UK have entered into bilateral agreement called the Cloud Act that, Gabbard said, prohibits the UK from issuing demands for data of US residents or any persons located inside the country. The converse applies to the US government under the agreement.