Technology Ain't Magic
Towards the end of last year, Apple and Google had announced that the latest versions of iOS and Android (iOS8 and Android L at that point) would be designed such that even Apple and Google themselves couldn’t decrypt the data on your device . This was done to convince the public that law enforcement agencies couldn’t snoop on your data (No, this wasn’t just a claim: it is the way the maths of encryption and decryption works). If you are wondering whether to trust a claim based on maths you don’t know or understand, well, at least you’re honest about your lack of understanding of the topic. That honesty makes you better than the Washington Post editorial board! The Washington Post editorial (WaPo for short) starts with a legitimate concern: if nobody but the device owner can decrypt the data, wouldn’t this be a boon for terrorists and criminals? They then acknowledge a valid counter-argument: “But there are legitimate and valid counter arguments…They say that a compromis