Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Tracking & Law Enforcement

Majority of Americans Back FBI in Battle With Apple

A majority of Americans support the US government’s efforts to force Apple to help unlock an iPhone in the probe of last year’s deadly San Bernardino attacks, a poll showed Monday.

A majority of Americans support the US government’s efforts to force Apple to help unlock an iPhone in the probe of last year’s deadly San Bernardino attacks, a poll showed Monday.

The Pew Research Center survey found 51 percent of respondents supported the effort to require Apple to help unlock the iPhone, while 38 percent said Apple should not unlock the phone to ensure the security of its other users. Eleven percent did not offer an opinion.

In the poll taken from February 18-21 — shortly after news broke about the standoff — 75 percent in the survey said they were aware of the deadlock, with 39 percent saying they had heard “a lot” and 36 percent indicating they heard “a little” about it.

Support for the government’s case was highest among the older poll respondents, by a 54-27 percent margin among those 65 or older.

There was little difference between Democrat and Republican respondents, but independents were nearly split on the issue, with 42 percent siding with Apple to 45 percent for the government.

Smartphone owners were in support of the government by a 51-40 percent margin, but among iPhone owners the support was a bit lower at 47-43 percent.

The researchers surveyed 1,002 American adults by mobile or landline telephone. The margin of error for the full sample was estimated at 3.7 percentage points.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

US authorities are seeking to enforce an order to require Apple to provide technical assistance to unlock the iPhone of one of the attackers. Apple and its supporters argue that complying would set a precedent that would weaken security for all users.

 

RelatedIndustry Reactions to FBI’s Request for iPhone Backdoor

Written By

AFP 2023

Click to comment

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Join security experts as they discuss ZTNA’s untapped potential to both reduce cyber risk and empower the business.

Register

Join Microsoft and Finite State for a webinar that will introduce a new strategy for securing the software supply chain.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Cybercrime

No one combatting cybercrime knows everything, but everyone in the battle has some intelligence to contribute to the larger knowledge base.

Cybercrime

The FBI dismantled the network of the prolific Hive ransomware gang and seized infrastructure in Los Angeles that was used for the operation.

Ransomware

The Hive ransomware website has been seized as part of an operation that involved law enforcement in 10 countries.

Cybercrime

Daniel Kelley was just 18 years old when he was arrested and charged on thirty counts – most infamously for the 2015 hack of...

Privacy

Employees of Chinese tech giant ByteDance improperly accessed data from social media platform TikTok to track journalists in a bid to identify the source...

Cybercrime

Spanish Court agreed to extradite Joseph James O’Connor to he U.S., who allegedly took part in the July 2020 hacking of Twitter accounts of...

Ransomware

US government reminds the public that a reward of up to $10 million is offered for information on cybercriminals, including members of the Hive...

Application Security

Virtualization technology giant Citrix on Tuesday scrambled out an emergency patch to cover a zero-day flaw in its networking product line and warned that...