[res0nat0r]

Yes. There is zero evidence of any type of NSA backdooring your iPhone nonsense. It would be great to read HN (where I thought we were more technically inclined than the rest of the net) for a day without unfounded nonsensical claims.

[jlgreco]

Yes, it is simply inconceivable that hard evidence of the activities of a spy agency might not be forthcoming...

We are dealing with the realm of speculation, but it is not speculation fueled by some sort of tinfoil hatted lunacy. With the role that smartphones fill in peoples' lives today, you are just going to have to come to grips with the fact that, going forward, some people are going to consider the privacy of new devices to be very relevant, and well worth discussing. Don't be surprised when people error on the side of caution.

You want to talk about battery life and color? Well I want to talk about display DPI and privacy. Learn to cope.

[brymaster]

Wrong.

> In one case, after the government learned that a foreign intelligence target had ordered new computer hardware, the American manufacturer agreed to insert a back door into the product before it was shipped, someone familiar with the request told The Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet...

[res0nat0r]

"Someone" testified that an American manufacturer planted a back door into "a" product "somewhere".

Compelling.

So from that you extrapolate all devices made by US companies are secretly under the control of the NSA? Pretty big logical leap there.

[brymaster]

I know that you already dismiss the global surveillance from the NSA and other agencies because of your earlier comment "of a few powerpoint slides."

That leads me to believe that you're either part of an organization that's subverting the internet and assisting the NSA or you're willfully ignorant.

Fact is, your other comments point that you have not well-researched the situation.

Every week there's a new revelation of just how deep the surveillance really is-- not just "metadata" but ALL data is being collected. The NSA hacks into companies, pays off others for cooperation. Backdoors. Broken encryption. It's all there out in the open thanks to the documents that have been leaked.

You do harm to the liberty of others by dismissing these facts.

[mburns]

> because of your earlier comment "of a few powerpoint slides."

> It's all there out in the open thanks to the documents that have been leaked.

You dismiss his point that unsubstantiated documents is largely the source of all this speculation and then you remake a bunch of unsubstantiated claims, saying they are all proved by the aforementioned documents.

[brymaster]

Nope sorry, nothing from the documents is 'unsubstantiated.'

Even Obama and the NSA itself has backed this up.

They'd been trying to extradite Snowden ffs, get your head out of the sand.

[spangled]

I think the point is that not everything people say is supported by the available documents, not that the documents aren't real. Moreover, not everything reported by the press is backed up by a document that we can go and read. Even your quote sites "someone familiar with the request", not a document leaked by Snowden.

That is to say: there are some things that we know and are verified (e.g. that there is a program, called PRISM, etc.) but other things where there's a lot of speculation, but less or no verification (e.g. that the iPhone is backdoored.)

Some of us like to distinguish between these things. Some of us don't. It doesn't help to call people names over it, though.

[nilliams]

Backdooring iPhones does sound fantasical but that is not the only means your fingerprint data could conceivably make its way beyond your iPhone. I like that my fingerprint data is on precisely no computer anywhere. You don't have to be a massive conspiracy theory nut to feel slightly uneasy recording your fingerprint on anything.

[jlgreco]

> feel slightly uneasy recording your fingerprint on anything.

I assume you mean digitally record, unless you're wearing gloves. ;)

[smtddr]

This isn't just some random tinfoilhat idea that came out of nowhere. Remember CarrierIQ on Android? The NSA is real, the tinfoil-hats have been validated whether you believe it or not. From the NSA's point of view, having everyone's fingerprint on file would be fantastic and we know they have the power to force Apple to cooperate. In fact, I'm just assuming that's what will happen so now I'll be careful about borrowing anyone's iPhone. Everything about tech is going to be cross-examined with potential(read: definite future) data gathering usage by the NSA.