There are several articles out there about a new feature coming to IOS 15 and Mac updates in the fall. The updates revolve around images that are known in NCMEC’s database of images that may be inappropriate.
Each company may have their own solution of how they deal with this problem, but people are at arms about Apple’s solution.
While I’m not an expert, but yet I am unaware of anyone trying to solve the problem of inappropriate images floating around the Internet and harming people, I think Apple may be on to something.
Here are the articles, and we’ll talk about this on the Security Box with one of them.
- Apple’s new solution to combat child abuse imagery could radically shift encryption debate Cyberscoop
- Apple explains how iPhones will scan photos for child-sexual-abuse images Ars Technica
- Apple says it will refuse gov’t demands to expand photo-scanning beyond CSAM Ars Technica
All of these articles talk about this problem, but I don’t know if we have a solution that could look at solving this. If you were a tech company, what do you think you’d do?
To be honest I am unsure what I’d do.
This is afterall serious stuff.
But you are damned either way.
Apple has said its technology can only be used to handle images in databases that are marked as well not good.
And everything should have human checking.
However, you could get round that by not using icloud and that could be a blessing or a curse depending on who you are with.
As usual though if you have nothing to hide unleast you are in some countries in asia and the middle east where they make up chrimes to continue their own internal wars with eachother I wouldn’t bother about it.
Of course, depending on who’s circules you are talking about not even australia and my country New Zealand are safe from some issues.
I live with family on both sides of the political devide and I am in the middle.
They are concerned with covid and the massive changes, power and potential pitfalls down into the bouls of hell even though some of them could be good or bad depending on where things stand so I wouldn’t call even my part of the world completely stable by any means.
However, as long as you haven’t any real big enemies or stay out of disputes then you are probably going to be ok.
And remember any technology can be misused by anyone even the most legal and ethical stuff can be.
That doesn’t mean the makers should be liable all the time there is a risk when you put something out.
There is a slight risk someone won’t like what I am putting online and do something about it.
So yeah there is that.
So the issue would be if some country or other people hacked into the system, stole it and managed to make it their own.
There have been government security agency level spyware tools either sold or hacked or even given to trusted parties that then abuse it and then make a big issue out of it.
Will it help, well every bit does.
Will it make mistakes, yeah it will but they will be sorted out.
Will some stuff get through, yeah sure probably will but will be found and sorted.
Will it blow up in our faces, well yeah always a possibility but we hope not.
Then again if you are low to middle class, you are probably ok.
Its at the extreme high and low of society when stuff like this goes wrong.