Apple unleashes its lawyers on UK Home Office over demands to compromise software security

Apple has reportedly initiated a legal challenge against the UK Home Office in response to a government order demanding the creation of a “back door” into its most secure cloud storage systems.

According to the FT Apple filed an appeal with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, an independent judicial body that reviews complaints against UK security services, questioning the legality of the encryption bypass request under the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016.

This legal action marks the first courtroom test of the Act’s provisions concerning encryption. The tribunal is set to determine the lawfulness of the UK’s notice to Apple, with a hearing potentially occurring as soon as this month. However, details about the proceedings remain uncertain, as the government may argue for restrictions based on national security concerns.

In January, Apple received a “technical capability notice” under the Act, targeting its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature—a supplementary layer of encryption safeguarding iCloud backups. Rather than comply with the order, Apple withdrew this service from the UK, expressing disappointment over the inability to offer ADP to its UK customers.

The UK government contends that accessing encrypted systems is crucial for public safety, aiding in the investigation of terrorism and child sexual abuse cases. In contrast, cybersecurity experts argue that robust encryption is essential to protect users from cybercrimes.

The outcome of this legal challenge could have significant implications for the balance between user privacy and governmental access to encrypted data in the UK.