Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has received a warning about an order from the UK government demanding backdoor access to data from American tech giant Apple.
DNI Gabbard received the warning in a bipartisan letter from congressional lawmakers.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) penned a letter to Gabbard warning that the United Kingdom‘s reported new order jeopardizes Americans.
The letter referenced recent press reports that the UK’s home secretary “served Apple with a secret order last month, directing the company to weaken the security of its iCloud backup service to facilitate government spying.”
The directive reportedly requires the company to weaken the encryption of its iCloud backup service.
The UK government is pressuring Apple to grant it the “blanket capability” to access customers’ encrypted files.
Reports further state that the order was issued under the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act 2016.
The act is commonly known as the “Snoopers’ Charter” and it does not require a judge’s approval.
“Apple is reportedly gagged from acknowledging that it received such an order, and the company faces criminal penalties that prevent it from even confirming to the U.S. Congress the accuracy of these press reports,” Wyden and Biggs note.
The UK has been increasingly cracking down on British citizens for opposition commentary.
Unlike in the First Amendment in the United States, British citizens do not have the same rights to protect free speech.
The censorship effort especially targets online posts and memes opposing mass migration.
The crackdown from the UK emerged when riots broke out in the UK last August after a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event left three girls dead and others wounded.
London’s Metropolitan Police chief warned that officials could also extradite and jail U.S. citizens for online posts about the unrest.
The letter to Gabbard, however, also described the threat of China, Russia, and other adversaries spying on Americans.
Wyden sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee and Biggs chairs a House Judiciary subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance.
The two top lawmakers asked Gabbard to “act decisively to protect the security of Americans’ communications from dangerous, shortsighted efforts by the United Kingdom (UK) that will undermine Americans’ privacy rights and expose them to espionage by China, Russia, and other adversaries.”
The Washington Post was among the outlets to report about the UK order.
“These reported actions seriously threaten the privacy and security of both the American people and the U.S. government,” Wyden and Biggs wrote.
“Apple does not make different versions of its encryption software for each market; Apple customers in the UK use the same software as Americans.
“If Apple is forced to build a backdoor in its products, that backdoor will end up in Americans’ phones, tablets, and computers, undermining the security of Americans’ data, as well as of the countless federal, state, and local government agencies that entrust sensitive data to Apple products.”
The letter also references a Chinese hacking operation known as “Salt Typhoon.”
Last year, the Biden White House admitted the Chinese hacked at least nine U.S. telecommunications companies.
“The Salt Typhoon hack of U.S. telephone carriers’ wiretapping systems last year – in which President Trump and Vice President Vance’s calls were tapped by China – provides a perfect example of the dangers of surveillance backdoors,” the letter says.
“They will inevitably be compromised by sophisticated foreign adversaries and exploited in ways harmful to U.S. national security.
“As the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI confirmed last November, People’s Republic of China (PRC)-affiliated actors were involved in ‘copying of certain information that was subject to U.S. law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders.’”
“While the UK has been a trusted ally, the U.S. government must not permit what is effectively a foreign cyberattack waged through political means.
“If the UK does not immediately reverse this dangerous effort, we urge you to reevaluate U.S.-UK cybersecurity arrangements and programs as well as U.S. intelligence sharing with the UK,” the letter says.
Citing a December 2023 report by the UK Parliament’s intelligence oversight committee, the letter states that Britain benefits greatly from a “mutual presumption towards unrestricted sharing of [Signals Intelligence]” between the U.S. and the UK.
“The weight of advantage in the partnership with the [National Security Agency] is overwhelmingly in [the UK’s] favor,” the letter adds.
“The bilateral U.S.-UK relationship must be built on trust.
“If the UK is secretly undermining one of the foundations of U.S. cybersecurity, that trust has been profoundly breached,” Wyden and Biggs wrote.
At her confirmation hearing, Gabbard stated that “backdoors lead down a dangerous path that can undermine Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights and civil liberties.”
In written responses to senators’ questions, she also said:
“Mandating mechanisms to bypass encryption or privacy technologies undermines user security, privacy, and trust and poses significant risks of exploitation by malicious actors.”
“We urge you to put those words into action by giving the UK an ultimatum: back down from this dangerous attack on U.S. cybersecurity, or face serious consequences,” Wyden and Biggs wrote.
The letter asks Gabbard specifically whether the Trump administration was made aware of the reported order, either by the UK or Apple, prior to the press reports.
If so, when and by whom, they ask.
They also ask what the Trump administration’s understanding is of UK law “and the bilateral CLOUD Act agreement with regard to an exception to gag orders for notice to the U.S. government.”
Wyden and Biggs asked what the Trump administration’s understanding is “of its obligation to inform Congress and the American public about foreign government demands for U.S. companies to weaken the security of their products, pursuant to the CLOUD Act?”
The letter asked that unclassified answers be provided by March 3.
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