It’s not too soon. In a press release published on December 7, 2022, Apple announced the deployment of a whole host of new security measures for its iPhones, including end-to-end encryption of iCloud backups. Good news for those who want to protect their privacy.
Notes, memos, photos… Encryption everywhere
Whether it’s your photos, notes, voice notes, reminders, or Safari bookmarks, all that data will soon become unreadable to anyone but you. This option of “advanced data protection“, as Apple calls it, will be available in Europe in early 2023, the company promises. However, it seems that the option will not be activated by default, which may limit its scope.
End-to-end encryption means that only your devices will have the data decryption key, so data in transit through the cloud will be inaccessible to anyone else, including Apple. It’s the same data protection logic that services like Signal or Proton Mail already employ. Only iCloud emails, contact book and calendar events will not be encrypted”due to the need to interoperate with email, contacts, and calendar systems” explains Apple. Unlike Proton, Apple therefore makes a slight security compromise to ensure data interoperability. But the most interesting announcement is undoubtedly the encryption of iCloud backups.
iCloud backups, sinews of war
The company, which has made the protection of personal data a commercial argument for a long time, did indeed have some blind spots on this side. These backups, which contain nearly all of the data on your Apple device, were also unencrypted, giving law enforcement and authoritarian governments prime access to your digital life. A technical choice that had been widely talked about since the company seemed to make concessions on its values because of negotiations with the FBI or the Chinese government.
The possibility of encrypting backups is therefore good news, as it was the weak point of Apple’s argument concerning the protection of personal data.
iMessage will also be better protected
But Apple didn’t just announce the democratization of end-to-end encryption. Other security features are expected to arrive on iPhone and iPad in the coming months. Thanks to a cryptographic key exchange, iMessage will be able to alert you if an unknown device seems to have interfered in one of your conversations. “The vast majority of users will never be the target of such sophisticated cyberattacks, but this feature provides an important additional layer of security for those who might be,” Apple said.
We can also cite the future support for physical security keys that will provide a strong double authentication method. NFC or USB keys will both be compatible. iMessage functionality and support for security keys will also be available during 2023. Finally, in parallel with the publication of the press release, Apple confirmed to Wired the abandonment of its controversial functionality of “scanning” potentially pedophile photos.