De strijd tussen de FBI en Apple over meer toegang tot iOS vindt niet alleen in de rechtszaal plaats, ook de publieke opinie is daarbij belangrijk. Vooral nu het er steeds meer op lijkt dat er mogelijk nieuwe wetgeving gaat komen, zelfs FBI directeur James Comey heeft zich daarvoor uitgesproken.

In deze discussie mengt zich nu ook Craig Federighi, Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering. In dit stuk in The Washington Post maakt hij duidelijk wat hij denkt over deze zaak.

Daarbij maakt hij glashelder duidelijk dat het voor Apple een enorme klus is om hackers proberen voor te blijven, en onze data veilig te houden. Wat de FBI vraagt zou iOS effectief terugbrengen naar 2013, en dus de hackers een enorm voordeel opleveren.

As the head of software engineering at Apple, I think nothing is more important than the safety of all of our customers. Even as we strive to deliver delightful experiences to users of iPhones, iPads and Macs, our team must work tirelessly to stay one step ahead of criminal attackers who seek to pry into personal information and even co-opt devices to commit broader assaults that endanger us all. Sadly, these threats only grow more serious and sophisticated over time.

In just the past 18 months, hackers have repeatedly breached the defenses of retail chains, banks and even the federal government, making off with the credit card information, Social Security numbers and fingerprint records of millions of people.

That's why it's so disappointing that the FBI, Justice Department and others in law enforcement are pressing us to turn back the clock to a less-secure time and less-secure technologies. They have suggested that the safeguards of iOS 7 were good enough and that we should simply go back to the security standards of 2013. But the security of iOS 7, while cutting-edge at the time, has since been breached by hackers. What's worse, some of their methods have been productized and are now available for sale to attackers who are less skilled but often more malicious.