The Federal Bureau of Investigation has filed an order requiring Apple to provide them access to an iPhone used by one of the attackers of the San Bernardino, Calif. mass shooting last year. There have been instances in the past in which they cooperated with law enforcement in supplying data from their customers. But Apple has created an impression that the matter may be contradictory because though Apple embraced the new notion that they are no longer required to provide access for law enforcement, there are those prior records of their cooperation. Recent transparency reports from Apple revealed 11,000 data requests under order from United States courts and about 7,100 of those requests fulfilled. In statements from Apple, they make clear that the consumer-driven company was elated that the government mandate placed on them to interfere in their consumers’ data has been voided. And even though they have turned over data before, they’ve made initiatives like creating an iOS update in 2014 that made them “technically unable” to fulfill a court request, in order to discern privacy and iCloud use concerns.
So should you continue to use iCloud as your data storage source? Well many say no to be safe rather than sorry but there are some things to consider. First, you should know that your iMessage feature is safe. Texts sent via iMessage are not able to be intercepted or decrypted; only the sender and receiver have access to that exchange. On the contrary, iCloud information is encrypted on Apple’s servers. There are security measures for iCloud however they need that data in order to back up your phone if you happen to lose or damage your phone. So I suppose that’s the give and take. Will you continue to use iCloud and have your data backed up in case of an emergency at the cost of your privacy in governmental instances?