Apple announced on Friday that it will discontinue an advanced data security feature for users in the United Kingdom, following reports that the government insisted on backdoor access to users’ cloud-stored data.
The company’s Advanced Data Protection encryption, which was launched at the end of 2022, will no longer be available to new UK users, and existing users will see it phased out in the future. This feature was designed to provide enhanced security for iCloud files, photographs, notes, and other data through end-to-end encryption when stored in the cloud.
According to a recent report, British security agencies issued a secret directive mandating that Apple create a backdoor for them to access encrypted data. This information was drawn from anonymous sources and published in a major news outlet.
In its statement, Apple expressed disappointment over the decision, emphasizing that the elimination of this data protection feature comes at a time when data breaches and privacy violations are on the rise in the UK. The company refrained from mentioning the government’s specific demand directly.
The report indicated that the British government issued a “technical capability notice” as part of a broader legislative framework known as the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, often referred to as the “snoopers’ charter.” This law grants British intelligence the authority to infiltrate devices and collect extensive online data, much of which originates outside the UK. It also allows for the removal of encryption to facilitate surveillance and criminalizes any disclosures regarding such government requests.
The UK Home Office, responding to inquiries, did not provide any comments about operational matters or confirm the existence of these notices.
Although the extent of UK users utilizing Advanced Data Protection was not disclosed, Apple stated that this feature would continue to be available to users worldwide. However, certain forms of data, including passwords saved in the iCloud Keychain, health-related information, and communications on iMessage and FaceTime, will still have end-to-end encryption by default in the UK.
End-to-end encryption ensures that only the sender and intended recipient can read the messages, rendering them incomprehensible to anyone who intercepts them.
This situation highlights a critical issue with government attempts to weaken encryption, according to an IT professor from the University of Notre Dame. He explained that when companies like Apple are forced to decide between enhanced security and governmental demands, they often opt to eliminate security features entirely.
The professor warned that this trend could lead to diminished security for everyone. If other governments adopt similar approaches to the UK’s, we may face a future where strong encryption is effectively illegal, exposing people not just to government surveillance but also to potential eavesdropping by malicious actors.
