Engineers Threaten to Quit if FBI Forces Govt. OS on Apple
Encryption is the frontline against the surveillance state
Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com
March 18, 2016
Engineers and programmers told The New York Times on Thursday they will give up their jobs if the government forces Apple to undermine encryption on its devices.
“If the government tries to compel testimony or action from these engineers, good luck with that,” a former Apple engineering manager told the newspaper.
Window Snyder, a former Apple senior product manager, said if the government “attempts to force them to work on something that’s outside their personal values, they can expect to find a position that’s a better fit somewhere else.”
Simply refusing to code the new operation system while employed at Apple would not be an option. If engineers did this, according to Joseph DeMarco, a former federal prosecutor, the government “would be much more likely to find Apple in contempt” and impose heavy fines.
The Times cites the case of Lavabit, an encrypted email service used by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. In 2013, the government issued a warrant demanding the company surrender private encryption keys allowing it to read Snowden’s email. After the company refused, a judge imposed a $10,000-a-day penalty. Instead of paying the penalty the company ceased operations.
FBI Does Not Need Keys to Read iPhones
The Rest…HERE
