A report today says U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials are frustrated that they cannot crack Apple’s iMessage encryption in order to “wiretap” suspects.
Apple’s apparent stymying of the DEA was revealed in a government intelligence note obtained by CNet, which calls it “impossible” to intercept iMessages, even with a warrant. The note is entitled “Apple’s iMessages: A Challenge for DEA Intercept.”
While the DEA is apparently completely stymied if a message is an iMessage encrypted by Apple, they have better results if the message is sent as a text message. The DEA did admit though, that decrypting “seems to be more successful if the intercept is placed on the non-Apple device.”
The security of Apple’s iOS platform as opposed to competing platforms such as Google’s Android is considered a key advantage for the iPhone, even resulting in a warning last year from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center regarding malware that targets Android devices.
iMessage sends encrypted messages between Apple’s devices, which includes the iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers running recent versions of OSX. Apple says all iMessages sent and received are securely encrypted.
DEA officials first became aware of the problems iMessages presented to their efforts when their real-time electronic surveillance of a suspect failed to obtain all of the targets messages. It seems some of the messages were sent via iMessage, which bypasses the text messaging services of the wireless providers.
FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann was quoted last month at an American Bar Association as saying that enacting a new law to amend a 1994 law called the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act is a “top priority” this year. CALEA requires telecommunications providers to build in backdoors for easier surveillance, but does not apply to Internet companies, which are required to provide technical assistance instead.
A spokeswoman for the DEA declined to comment on iMessage and encryption. Apple also declined to comment.
Apple sees 2 billion iMessages a day that are sent from a half-billion iOS devices, in addition to Mac computers.
