Now, some Apple engineers who actually develop the iPhone encryption technology could refuse to help the law enforcement break security measures on iPhone, even if Apple as a company decides to cooperate with the FBI.
Apple Emplyees to Quit their Jobs
Citing more than a half-dozen current and former Apple engineers, The New York Times
reportclaims that the engineers may refuse the work or even “
quit their jobs” if a court order compels them to create a backdoor for the very software they once worked to secure.
“Apple employees are already discussing what they will do if ordered to help law enforcement authorities,” reads the report. “Some say they may balk at the work, while others may even quit their high-paying jobs rather than undermine the security of the software they have already created.”
Apple previously said that building a new
backdoored version of iOS to satisfy the FBI’s demand would require up to a month of work and a team of 6-10 engineers, naturally Apple’s top software engineers.
However, Apple employees said they already have “a good idea who those employees would be.” They include:
- A former aerospace engineer who developed software for the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.
- A senior quality-assurance engineer who is an expert “bug catcher” with experience in testing Apple products.
- An employee specializes in security architecture for the operating systems powering Apple products including iPhone, Mac and Apple TV.
The FBI wants Apple assistant to help the authorities
bypass security mechanisms on the San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook’s iPhone 5C so that they can extract data from the phone.
Given that the San Bernardino case is currently working its way through the courts and that no one is prepared to stand down, the possibility that Apple might have to comply with the orders is probably years away.