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iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus lock out the NSA and other government agencies

iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus lock out the NSA and other government agencies

Alexandra Burlacu

Apple's new-generation iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus reportedly come with an encryption technology that can lock out government agencies such as the NSA.

As it turns out, Apple not only made the switch to larger displays with its latest iPhones, but it also used a more advanced encryption technology that will make it harder for government agencies to access their information.

According to a new report from the New York Times, the new-generation iPhones will encrypt user data pertaining to emails, address book, images, password, bank account numbers, and many others, in a more confidential manner. As a result, government agencies such as the NSA and other law enforcement will have serious difficulties in accessing that information.

"The phone encrypts emails, photos and contacts based on a complex mathematical algorithm that uses a code created by, and unique to, the phone's user - and that Apple says it will not possess," the New York Times (NYT) reports.

"The result, the company is essentially saying, is that if Apple is sent a court order demanding that the contents of an iPhone 6 be provided to intelligence agencies or law enforcement, it will turn over gibberish, along with a note saying that to decide the phone's emails, contacts and photos, investigators will have to break the code or get the code from the phone's owner."

The report further notes that an Apple technical guide reveals that breaking the code could take "more than 5 ½ years to try all combinations of a six-character alphanumeric passcode with lowercase letters and numbers." Computer security experts, however, doubt that it would take that long to crack a code, the NYT points out, believing that Apple is underestimating NSA's supercomputers.

Furthermore, Apple also claimed that it will not even retain the unique algorithm that would be helpful in breaking the code for specific devices. During a press conference, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) director James B. Comey reportedly criticized such encryption technology, claiming that it allows people to "hold themselves beyond the law."

According to him, this type of advanced technology designed to protect users' privacy could severely limit investigations regarding serious crimes such as murders, kidnappings, robbery, and more.

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