Senator Ron Wyden’s office (D-Ore) recently received word that Google might have obtained a Technical Capabilities Notice (TCN) from the United Kingdom’s government to weaken its encryption.
Apple was the first tech company to receive a Technical Capabilities Notice (TCN) from the British government. A TCN is an order from the government to include a technical functionality in its services. In Apple’s case, the company was allegedly ordered to secretly provide backdoor access to end-to-end encrypted iCloud backups so British authorities could view encrypted data of specific users.
In response, Apple decided to pull its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature for new users in the United Kingdom, meaning iCloud backups can no longer be encrypted and are theoretically accessible by intelligence agencies.
“Apple remains committed to offering our users the highest level of security for their personal data and is hopeful that we will be able to do so in the future in the United Kingdom. As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will,” the company said in a statement.
Under British law, companies served with a TCN aren’t allowed to disclose this information. Although Apple hasn’t officially confirmed it received a TCN from the British government, the fact that the company has retired its ADP feature from the UK and the Cupertino-based tech company has filed an appeal with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal says it all.
Apple appears to be not the only company to be presented with a TCN. A letter that has been signed by several US Members of Congress, states that Senator Ron Wyden’s office heard that Google also might have received a TCN. However, if that were the case, the company was prohibited from disclosing that fact.
Both Democrats and Republicans urge the UK’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal to “remove the cloak of secrecy” surrounding the order.
“Given the significant technical complexity of this issue, as well as the important national security harms that will result from weakening cybersecurity defenses, it is imperative that the UK’s technical demands of Apple, and of any other US companies, be subjected to robust, public analysis and debate by cybersecurity experts. Secret court hearings featuring intelligence agencies and a handful of individuals approved by them do not enable robust challenges on highly technical matters,” the letter states.
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, is currently investigating whether the British government’s order to create secret backdoors might be a “clear and egregious violation of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties.”
“Our intelligence relationships with foreign partners are of vital importance to our national security, however, my obligations as Director of National Intelligence include protecting both the security of our country and the God-given rights of the American people enshrined in the US Constitution,” Gabbard said about his inquiry.
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