In an unprecedented move that has stirred up the crypto market, tech behemoths Apple and Google have emerged as potential threats to the stability of cryptocurrencies, as per Balaji Srinivasan, a renowned crypto entrepreneur and former Coinbase CTO.
He cautioned that if exploited by federal governments, both tech titans could undermine the integrity of iPhone and Android security to extract private cryptographic keys.
Bracing for an Unseen Attack
In the wake of El Salvador adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender in 2023, it’s not implausible to consider that by the end of this decade, the global political landscape may be significantly influenced by the cryptocurrency holdings of financially strained governments.
Much like the impact of social media platforms Twitter and Facebook during the Arab Spring of 2010, the repercussions of cryptocurrencies on global economies and politics are becoming increasingly apparent.
The question that looms large is how far will desperate governments go in their quest to secure Bitcoin for their operations.
Unlike a conventional 51% attack through mining, which the US government would find challenging to execute, federal bodies could potentially pressurize tech companies like Apple and Google to extract private keys from the servers, devices, and browsers under their control.
In a situation akin to cyber warfare, these corporations could be compelled to surrender any exfiltrated assets to cash-starved governments.
Srinivasan likens this possibility to the unfortunate incident that occurred in Russia in 2022 when tech companies were forced to betray their customers deemed as state enemies.
In such a scenario, billions of devices including iPhones, Android phones, Mac laptops, and Chrome browsers could be targeted. The same threat could be posed by China, employing Chinese smartphone manufacturers.
The possible line of defense in this predicament is hard to determine. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, known for his staunch support for end-to-end encryption, might resist this pressure.
However, if the operating system itself cannot be trusted, viable solutions become elusive. Linux could potentially offer a solution, though the scalability of Linux devices remains uncertain.
Apple’s Stance on Privacy
This situation necessitates recalling Apple’s stance on child safety measures in August 2021. The company proposed three novel features, including a system to detect known Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) images stored in iCloud Photos, a Communication Safety option that would blur explicit photos in the Messages app, and resources for child exploitation prevention on Siri.
However, CSAM detection, the most controversial feature, was ultimately abandoned after receiving significant backlash from customers, advocacy groups, researchers, and others.
Apple’s initial plan was to launch CSAM detection as part of an iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 update. It was designed to perform on-device matching using a database of known CSAM image hashes provided by child safety organizations.
The scheme also involved reporting iCloud accounts with known CSAM image hashes to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), a non-profit that collaborates with U.S. law enforcement agencies.
This raised concerns among critics, including security researchers and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), who feared the creation of a device ‘backdoor’ for governments or law enforcement agencies.
In light of these potential risks, it is imperative to seek solutions that could be both social and political, rather than solely technological. As Srinivasan highlights, it’s time to ponder the difficult questions that our rapidly evolving tech landscape presents to us.
The path to the future might just lie in our ability to navigate the grey areas of technology, politics, and privacy.
