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Comment by zabatuvajdka | Hacker News Reader

Who says you need any of the above? Cloud storage is overrated. When is the last time you lost files? I have stuff from an old lexar jump drive early 2000s doing just fine.

For more sensitive materials back up when the data changes and store in a disaster proof safe.

I think the fear of losing things is a problem. People take so many photos anyway and who even looks at all of them? Memories are great and we should cherish them but… this is one of those cases where folks don’t need to rely on big tech.

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Or, just encrypt your files before sending them to sit on someone else's server.

Gasp, are you saying anyone worried about getting caught simply could encrypt their photos first and this system won’t work? So an extra step for the bad guy, a system that is invasive for all users, and a system that is easily avoided by the bad guy. What are you doing Apple, this feels like a cheating partner here.

Then in this case you could still use an Apple device, considering that if you don't use iCloud Photos, there's no scanning on your device anyway. I think that radical stances and refusing a dialogue, albeit critical, it's something that in this case won't really go anywhere.

Nope, Apple announced this tech is coming to 3rd party apps via API.

iCloud was just the start, it wasn't the end.

Source?

https://www.macrumors.com/2021/08/09/apple-child-safety-feat...

No, someone can still attack you by creating an iCloud account and pushing cp. There is no way to mitigate such an attack after purchasing an apple device as far as I can tell. And, apple pretends their devices are secure so they have incentive to not discover compromised devices (as if they could) even though it’s clearly a problem with Pegasus and probably many other non-consumer grade exploits. I think the only answer is a phone that cannot back up to the cloud at all. Which is what I suppose I have to shop for now. Hopefully this attack hits some senator or apple exec first. I don’t want to backup my phone, and at this point I don’t want a camera or location services. I want security which apple no longer offers.

>No, someone can still attack you by creating an iCloud account and pushing cp. There is no way to mitigate such an attack after purchasing an apple device as far as I can tell.

Could you elaborate? Totally unclear to me what kind of attack you're talking about.

I think they're saying that if someone can completely hack your phone so as to have remote control of it, they can sign you up for an iCloud account and add CSAM to it.

This seems... implausibly convoluted. If you have full remote control of someone's phone, Apple or not, you could do all sorts of incriminating things "as them", and I don't think Apple's new system noticeably increases your risk from this.

Like what? Buy illegal fireworks online?

It would take the flick of a switch for someone to ruin your life for a crime you could never explain yourself out of. Nobody will ever believe that you were framed because that means other convicted predators could also have been framed. As soon as your name hits an index-able news article, guilty or not, your life is over.

This is a blackmail machine.

Well, the obvious option if you've subverted someone's phone so you can do whatever you want with it, and have access to illegal stuff, would be to store it on the phone and submit anonymous tips about the person to the police. Or upload it to random image-sharing websites, or Facebook, or email it to their coworkers with some "I found this on X's phone and thought you should know" note attached, or whatever.

I'm just saying that actually getting the attention of authorities is the most trivial part of this suggested attack. Apple's new stuff is a vector for that, sure, but anyone who is in a position to exploit it could easily do so in other ways as well.

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