Skip to main content

San Bernardino police chief takes sides in Apple’s encryption battle with the FBI

If you’re keeping score at home, add San Bernardino’s police chief as the latest to take sides in the ongoing battle between Apple and the FBI. Jarrod Burguan, the local police chief, joined NPR to share his views on the current FBI and Apple privacy battle. In the interview, Burguan admits that there is “a good chance that there is nothing of any value on the phone”, but believes there is the possibility that “maybe there was some information on there that would lead to a larger plot or larger network.”

In the interview, the point is raised that this ongoing discussion is nothing new. The interviewer prods Burguan on his opinion of whether or not the case is “being used as an example for an agenda that was already there.” Relaying that he has a few Apple devices and is a fan of the products, Burguan doesn’t see it as fight between the FBI and Apple. “The larger issue here is do we want companies to have the right to create something that is that much of a potential danger”, says Burguan.

He doesn’t believe that iOS would be less secure over time if access to the encrypted system was given.

“At the speed of technology, this particular operating system will be obsolete in six months to a year. It will be completely replaced by a new system and whatever version of iOS this is will be useless in a short period of time.

The entire interview can be heard below or over at NPR’s site.

Catch up on our continuing coverage of the case below.

 

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

  1. Jake Becker - 8 years ago

    Burguan has the knowledge to be that matter-of-fact about iOS?

    • Greg Barbosa - 8 years ago

      Maybe not, but he does have a job title that helps to speak in this situation.

  2. Incredulous comment from another rube. The US is a joke in the eyes of the rest of the world. Government wants to curb tech because it’s dangerous, but they’ll keep pumping out weapons of all kinds and stuffing the illegal channels the world over, chemical and big-oil pollution, greenhouse gasses, murdering of civilians across the globe by US government employees and contractors and of course imprisonment of hundreds upon hundreds without due process.

    This would be funny if it weren’t so scary. Apple need to think long and hard about pulling the plug on that new HQ and moving out of the US.

    • dcperin - 8 years ago

      While you’re absolutely right, let’s not be naive and think the US is the only country doing these things. America isn’t the only country polluting, that’s just obvious. The UK is embroiled in its own torture scandal right now (I’d say that doesn’t fall under due process), Russia is pumping weapons out just as fast. Middle Eastern counties murdering their own citizens at an insane rate and justifying it by misinterpreting Islam, leaving millions upon millions misplaced in the process.

      Apple creates this black door and watch government officials from different countries foam at the mouth for that backdoor to further restrict freedom and liberty. As a citizen of the US, this country is going to shit. What’s worse, the entire world is going to shit.

    • Jake Becker - 8 years ago

      I definitely don’t think he thinks the U.S. is the only country at it, I think most of us are a little way beyond pissed off and intolerant that the U.S. won’t get its act together, outright refuses to, and therefore lands in the same playpen (or worse) as other countries which we often speak ill of, and people who outright ignore it (almost everyone who votes) make it that much worse. The voice of that crowd is so overpowering that the knee-jerk reaction to stuff *we* say is usually a raised eyebrow…

      • dcperin - 8 years ago

        While our inaction has made things worse, blaming it on “almost everyone that votes” is a little overboard. And again, I agree, we’re going down a dangerous path.. I just feel like all these people from other countries think the worlds problems are all our fault, and that’s not the reality. We’ve manufactured quite a few , but we aren’t responsible for everything that happens in the world. We’re the lone “superpower” so it doesn’t matter anyway, we’re damn if we do, and we’re damned if we don’t. The real injustice is our governments idea that everyone in the world should be “fixed.” We need to fix ourselves before telling others how to live their life.

        On another note, this debate is pretty interesting. That’s what makes America (and most Western Europe) countries so great, that it’s even a debate. For all its flaws, when our justice system does work properly, it’s a pretty fair one (all things considered.) By that I mean the losing party would never tell you justice is served.

  3. A signed alternate OS will forever be “useful” for any and all existing iOS device (over a billion) and the capitulation to these illegal demands by the US government will forever indenture Apple to making and providing similar hackable versions of the OS for the rest of time.

    • Greg Barbosa - 8 years ago

      A signed OS could technically STOP being signed, like how Apple stops signing old iOS builds after a new one comes out.

      But the rest of your argument rings true. Apple could get requests from the government in the future and have to continue on with this in similar situations.

  4. srgmac - 8 years ago

    This issue is getting ridiculous. If the FBI wants to hack the phone, they can do it with their own security experts on their own dime.
    I fail to see why they have to force Apple to write software for them (that doesn’t even exist currently and never would exist otherwise).

    • Greg Barbosa - 8 years ago

      I’m thinking the problem is that the FBI already has tried it (similar cases have been brought up before), and they just can’t do it. I honestly think they can’t either.

  5. Thomas Marble Peak - 8 years ago

    Thank you Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and others!! #StandWithApple

    If you too would like to stand with Apple’s stance on privacy, then add your name to the petition https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/apple-privacy-petition

    https://www.apple.com/customer-letter/answers/

  6. Law enforcement deployed in the mission of PR and media spin. Note the conciliatory tone indicating that perhaps poor old Apple isn’t
    operating in a cooperative and possibly treasonous way. Not fooled.

  7. S Abir S Alih - 8 years ago

    I don’t believe Apple should build in backdoors, it defeats the purpose of a secure OS and also proves that their system can be broken into. What apple should do to prevent abuse and also re-use of the software is sign it specifically for that device and then stop signing it afterwards. That way the OS would be useless for any other device.

    Also, if Apple really wants to stay out of this in the future they need to completely isolate the security system from IOS so a simple “hacked version of iOS” can’t modify the security measures.

    The Government can’t force you to do anything if the phone is actually unhackable, even by Apple themselves.

    • dcperin - 8 years ago

      The problem with allowing it for a single iPhone is it will set a precedent for all future cases. They’ll say “Apple done it for the San Bernardino massacre, they should do it just this one time, AGAIN.”

    • Robert - 8 years ago

      Even if they make govtOS and sign it for just this one device.

      1) they hand over the phone with govtOS on it to the FBI, and they can attempt to backwards engineer govtOS

      2) engineers at Apple know how to make govtOS and they can leave, get a job somewhere else and take that knowledge with them

      3) the government can use this precedent to keep asking for newer versions of govtOS every week for any number of phones. They could even demand a govtOS to enable spying on suspects.

  8. Robert - 8 years ago

    One of the great security features Apple has added is the inability to downgrade to an older version of iOS. People complained about this but it really is a cool security feature.

  9. Peter Vogel - 8 years ago

    Look, by now anyone involved in some “larger plot” would know that the phone owned by the shooter was compromised (or should assume it to be) and any “larger plot” information or information about some cell the guy was a part of (I would assume he didn’t take selfies with his fellow terrorists, etc.) would have become irrelevant within hours of it being public that the FBI had the guy’s phone.

  10. Julie Phipps-Labonté - 8 years ago

    What makes a police chief an expert in OS security? Was he a systems engineer in a previous career or something? If not, how exactly is this testimony relevant?

    • Greg Barbosa - 8 years ago

      His testimony is directly relevant when his department was also responsible. for resetting the iCloud password. I don’t believe anyone said he was an expert in iOS security.

      • dcperin - 8 years ago

        Resetting an iCloud password and being able to create a backdoor into iOS or even knowing if it’s possible are two different games. That’s like comparing little league baseball with MLB. My 10 year old niece could reset my iCloud password if she ask my mom (her Gma) enough questions about me.

        Also, he was flat out wrong. No iOS version is obsolete 6 months later. Multiple major updates usually come out before apple stops signing specific builds.

      • Greg Barbosa - 8 years ago

        As a Police Chief, when you’re department is involved in a situation where a court case arises in one way or another; it’s not too far fetched to assume you would have an opinion to share. Nothing wrong with him doing so, whether you believe him to be wrong or right.

        Agreed that no iOS is obsolete in 6 months. But it is not correct that multiple major updates usually come out before Apple stops signing. That may have been the case before but Apple has stopped signing previous iOS builds as soon as a week or so after a new release (http://9to5mac.com/2015/10/29/apple-blocks-downgrading-to-9-0-2/).

      • dcperin - 8 years ago

        It’s not that he has an opinion, it’s that his opinion is something he doesn’t know anything about. And I should have been more clear, I did say it wrong and I shouldn’t have worded it like that. They do stop signing it quicker, like you said but that still leaves the people with that version on their phone vulnerable. Know who a large swath of those people are? Business phones. Businesses that need time to update their content to they newest version. A lot of companies tell their employee to NOT update their iPhone until given the ok. State Farm, Comcast and Time Warner are a few off the top of my head that I know for a fact does that. All of them are massive corporations. Those are all companies with customer information on their phones.

  11. Dean Cade - 8 years ago

    I’m so glad I live in New Zealand where we don’t give a dam about the FBI. If TAS had down their job correctly their would not have been 911.

    Apple keep to your guns and keep our Apple products secure.

  12. Worse victim of this system of american monitoring is the proper american people who if is deceptive false protection.