Skip to main content

Apple Harvests iMessage Logs And Could Share Them With The Police Says Reporter


Questions are raised over how private Apple’s services really are. Apple keeps logs of the phone numbers its users have contacted through its Message app, and may share them and other sensitive metadata with the police.





The Intercept received a document that explained every time a number is typed into the Messages app on an iPhone for a text conversation, the app contacts Apple’s servers to determine if the message should be sent via SMS or through Apple’s proprietary iMessage service. Each query is recorded by Apple, including the time and date the number was entered and the user’s IP address.

Other than the normal privacy concerns, the collection of this data is in direct contradiction to Apple’s claims that it does not store data relating to a person’s location, as the IP address is a good indication of where a person is.


iMessage data storage



iMessage 2Apple can be compelled to hand this data over to the authorities through court orders if the data is viewed as potentially useful for aiding an ongoing criminal investigation.

The Cupertino company told The Intercept that it only retains the logs for a 30-day period, though court orders can force it to store the data for longer.

“When law enforcement presents us with a valid subpoena or court order, we provide the requested information if it is in our possession. Because iMessage is encrypted end-to-end, we do not have access to the contents of those communications,” Apple said in a statement.

“In some cases, we are able to provide data from server logs that are generated from customers accessing certain apps on their devices. We work closely with law enforcement to help them understand what we can provide and make clear these query logs don’t contain the contents of conversations or prove that any communication actually took place.”

Apple’s appearance of willingness to comply with such court orders seems to be in contradiction to the posturing it did over an FBI order to unlock the iPhone 5S belonging to San Bernardino gunman responsible for a terrorist attack last December.

The revelation comes at a time when Apple is shoring up its iOS encryption.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Security Alert; Bart Ransomware Bypasses Corporate Firewalls

A new ransomware variant has emerged that’s similar to widespread threats such as Dridex 220 and Locky Affid=3, but uses a security-evading technique that may allow it to attack organisations protected from other malware, according to computer security researchers. Ransomware has spread quickly in the last few months, as a number of payouts have attracted cyber-criminals to the technique.
Post a Comment
Read more

US Demands Immediate End To South Sudan Fighting

The United States demanded an immediate end to renewed fighting in the capital of South Sudan on Sunday, ordering all non-essential personnel out of the troubled country. "The United States strongly condemns the latest outbreak of fighting in Juba today between forces aligned with President Salva Kiir Mayardit and those aligned with First Vice President Riek Machar Teny, including reports we have that civilian sites may have been attacked," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
Post a Comment
Read more

Prisoner escapes in Benin city

An inmate on Wednesday morning escaped from the court where he was taken to for his trial. The unidentified inmate, escaped from the watchful eyes of prison officials who took him and other inmates to court. The prisoner, an awaiting trial inmate in Oko medium prison, Benin, escaped at the premises of the state high court, Benin. A prison official who spoke with The reporter under the condition of anonymity, said prison warders have been sent to go after the escaped prisoner. Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Edo command of the Nigerian Prison Services (NPS), Mr Aminu Suleiman declined speaking to journalists on it. The spokesman, who could neither deny nor confirm the report, said he was not in a position to speak on the issue. Suleiman said that the state commander of the NPS, Mr Effiom Etowa, was out of the state on official assignment.
Post a Comment
Read more