Tech Brew Ride Home - Tue. 01/21 - Why Didn't Apple Encrypt iCloud Backups?

Starting point is 00:00:00 On April 4th, 2023, around 2 in the morning, a man was found stabbed multiple times on a sidewalk in downtown San Francisco. Hey, who did this to you? What happened next turned the story into a political firestorm. Reports have identified the victim as Bob Lee, the founder of Cash App. From Bloomberg Podcasts, this is Foundering, the Killing of Bob Lee, beginning April 16. Welcome to the TechMeme ride home for Monday, January 21st, 2020. I'm Brian McCullough. Today, Apple could have encrypted iCloud backups but didn't, ostensibly to play nice with the government.

Starting point is 00:00:46 Getting an Uber from the airport is about to get more expensive, possibly a lot more. Digital media is actually making money? Is IGTV on the way out? Some interesting raises and potentially the most consequential lawsuit in Silicon Valley history. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. sources are telling Reuters that about two years ago, Apple dropped a plan to encrypt backups of devices in iCloud after the FBI complained that such a move would harm their investigations. Interesting that these details about how much Apple is, in fact, willing to help law enforcement pursue investigations is leaking out now, wouldn't you say? Quote, more than two years ago, Apple told the FBI that it planned to offer users end-to-end encryption,

Starting point is 00:01:35 when storing their phone data on iCloud, according to one current and three former FBI officials and one current and one former Apple employee. Under that plan, primarily designed to thwart hackers, Apple would no longer have a key to unlock the encrypted data, meaning it would not be able to turn materials over to authorities in a readable form even under court order. In private talks with Apple, soon after, representatives of the FBI's cybercrime agents and its operational technology division objected to the plan, arguing it would deny them the most effective means for gaining evidence against iPhone using suspects, the government sources said. When Apple spoke privately to the FBI about its work on phone security the following year, the end-to-end encryption plan had been dropped,

Starting point is 00:02:15 according to the six sources. Reuters could not determine why exactly Apple dropped the plan. Quote, legal killed it for reasons you can imagine, another former Apple employee said he was told, without any specific mention of why the plan was dropped or if the FBI was a factor in the decision. That person told Reuters the company did not want to risk being attacked by public officials for protecting criminals, sued for moving previously accessible data out of reach of government agencies or used as an excuse for new legislation against encryption. Quote, they decided they weren't going to poke the bear anymore, the person said. Referring to Apple's court battle with the FBI in 2016 over access to an iPhone used by one of the suspects in a mass-referred. shooting in San Bernardino, California, end quote.

Starting point is 00:03:00 So a couple interesting tweets commenting on this. First, Robert Stevens tweeted, quote, I think this will come as a surprise to most people. I actually thought our ICloud backups were end-to-end encrypted. You can't put up those privacy billboards and yet have ICloud backups unencrypted, end quote. But then this from Renee Richie was worth repeating, quote, may be true or part of the truth, but I heard at the time and have repeated often since that the main reason backups aren't end-to-end encrypted is that for most people, losing access to data is a much higher risk than having data stolen or subpoenaed, end quote.

Starting point is 00:03:43 The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Uber is testing a feature that will allow Uber drivers in three California cities the discretion to set their own fares on rides from airports. drivers will be able to charge up to five times the usual Uber fare. Starting tomorrow, if you hail an Uber after landing at the Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, or Sacramento airports, the driver can set her own rate. This appears to be among the many changes that Uber has made in response to California's recently passed Assembly Bill 5. The law requires companies to treat workers as employees, eligible for sick days and other benefits, rather than independent contractors, if they are controlled by their employees.

Starting point is 00:04:24 employer and contribute to its usual course of business. Uber has argued that it is a technology platform that connects riders with drivers, not a transportation company, so the drivers aren't part of its usual course of business. The Fair Test and other recent changes are part of Uber's effort to strengthen its case that its drivers operate with some degree of independence. Earlier this month, Uber capped its commissions on rides across California. Last month, it allowed drivers in the state to see where riders were going, letting them choose. the trips they wanted to take. Previously, drivers agreed to trips without knowing the destination. Uber's latest changes will set up a bidding system that allows drivers the ability to increase

Starting point is 00:05:04 fares in 10% increments, up to a maximum of five times Uber's price, the person involved in developing the feature said. Once a writer pings the Uber app at the locations in the pilot program, Uber will match the rider with the driver who has set the lowest price, the person said. drivers who have set higher fares are gradually dispatched as more riders request rides. While the change gives drivers more autonomy, setting fares too high may result in fewer trips and longer waits. For riders, the feature could result in higher fares and more volatility. Uber also risks losing riders to rival Lyft, which hasn't announced any changes to its app in response to California's new gig economy law, end quote. As Axios puts it, we might look back on 2019 as a watershed,

Starting point is 00:05:53 moment for digital media, a true digital publishing breakthrough, because basically, digital publishers are doing something that they've never done since the dawn of the internet. Make money. Sources are telling Axios that business insider, Vox Media, the information, Axios, and Politico, have all turned profits in 2019. Many of those companies celebrating their first times ever in the black. Axios says there are five major overall trends. suddenly bouncing in digital media's favor, and I'm going to quote them all. Quote, A global wave of new copyright laws means that platforms are likely to have to start paying publishers

Starting point is 00:06:33 for the right to carry their content, even if it's just a linked headline or a bit of text. Some tech companies are getting ahead of it. Facebook is paying select publishers up to multi-million dollars annually to distribute their content. Platforms like Apple, Twitter, and Snapchat give publishers a cut of the ad revenue they make or sell off their content. Increased demand for creators and creativity to produce podcasts and TV shows for the new streaming platforms. Last year saw record demand for television original series. Demand for podcast and audio content is also leading to a record number of digital companies

Starting point is 00:07:08 partnering with podcast studios and distributors to create audio content like flash briefings and skills. And this is one that I think might be long term crucial. A regulatory and cultural shift towards privacy is pushing more advertisers to rely on first-party data to target users. Several publishers like Vox Media, News Corp, and The Washington Post have created new data marketplaces that capture that demand. The growth of big, murky online marketplaces in retail is forcing consumers to turn to trusted publishers for commerce recommendations and guidance, creating a new revenue stream for publishers, end quote.

Starting point is 00:07:44 That last bit there speaking of things like wirecutter there. Now, it is worth noting that a lot of these companies, that are turning profits for the first time have had to cut costs deeply to get to this point. And with all the cost cutting and layoffs, BuzzFeed and Vice, it should be noted, haven't gotten there yet. But this last line in Sarah Fisher's piece about this is interesting. And yes, I'm going to quote the Axios convention here, quote, Be smart. These success stories have begun to allay investor concerns.

Starting point is 00:08:14 Venture investors known for expecting quick returns tell Axios that they are beginning to take a longer view of their investments in publishers that have more sustainable business models like subscriptions, end quote. It was a long weekend, so I want to make sure to grab a couple of things that might otherwise fall through the cracks. First, speaking of podcasts as a revelation for digital media, sources are saying that Spotify is in talks to buy the ringer, founded by former ESPN sports commentator Bill Simmons. Why would Spotify think of buying a sports website? Well, As I can tell you from personal experience, based on the half dozen or so Ringer podcast I listen to every week, the Ringer is basically at this point a podcasting operation that subsidizes a website.

Starting point is 00:09:05 Or maybe compliments, as I'm sure that the website does drive audience to the podcast. But from what I hear, the vast, vast majority of Ringer revenue comes from the podcast, quoting the Wall Street Journal. The Ringer, a sports and pop culture outlet founded by former ESPN commentator Bill Simmons in 2016, has a podcasting network that attracts more than 100 million downloads a month. In addition to the Bill Simmons podcast, The Ringer produces The Watch, a discussion show about TV and pop culture, binge mode, which dives deep into pop culture franchises and The Rwatchables, a show that breaks down popular movies. Let me just say, as an aside, if you've never listened to a rewatchables episode, that is the best.

Starting point is 00:09:49 Quoting again, the companies teamed up in September to launch a new original podcast hosted by Mr. Simmel. the hottest take, which streams exclusively on Spotify. Though the Ringers' website doesn't draw as many visitors as some of its largest competitors, such as ESPN and Bleacher Report, its podcast network generates significant revenue. The Ringers' podcast revenues exceeded $15 million in 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported, and the company is profitable, end quote. And also, catching this, has Instagram quietly removed the IGTV button from its home page, and might that be the end of what looks to be a failed experiment, quoting TechCrunch?

Starting point is 00:10:30 At most, 7 million of Instagram's 1 billion-plus users have downloaded its standalone IGTV app in the 18 months since its launch. And now Instagram's main app is removing the annoying orange IGTV button from its homepage in what feels like an admission of lackluster results. For reference, TikTok received 1.15 billion downloads in the same period since IGTV launched. in June 2018. In just the U.S., TikTok received 80-5 million downloads compared to IGTVs, 1.1 million since then, according to research commissioned by TechCrunch from Censor Tower, end quote. Of course, TikTok spent billions to land that audience and get those downloads. And if you're an Instagram user, it's not like you ever really needed the separate IGTV app

Starting point is 00:11:18 to watch videos, since videos have always been integrated into the main feed anyway. But at the very least, let's just say it's certainly looking like Insta was unable to brute force its way into grafting on video as a destination in the same way that it was successful at doing so with stories, filters, and other types of bells and whistles that have proven popular on other platforms. And let's collect a few interesting raises here for a Monday. Soft robotics makes gripping and sorting machines for warehouses that make use of a vision system and AI to, you know, Sort packages and whatnot. The company is backed by DARPA and has raised a $23 million series B, quoting Venture Beat. As work published by MIT and others has established, Picker robots struggle with complex poses and unfamiliar objects. That's because they not only have to locate objects and understand how to grasp them, but because they've got to set them down

Starting point is 00:12:18 such that they don't sustain damage or disturb their surroundings. Truly versatile picker robots could transform warehouses in industries ranging from e-commerce to manufacturing. Soft robotics describes its grippers as a fundamentally new class of machine, those that are adaptive, plug-and-play, repeatable, and reliable. Its M-Gripp product allows builds with multiple configurations and spacing options with a cycling time of three to four times per second and sub-millimeter precision, thanks in part to its air-filled soft plastic design. The company's Super Picker is a robot.

Starting point is 00:12:53 agnostic solution comprising a vision system and AI engine that reports real-time metrics, enabling capabilities that include exception handling, remote operator access, object detection, bin localization, grasp detection, grasp quality analysis, and precision placement, end quote. Note, by the way, to all municipalities that are offering tax breaks to attract major warehouses and logistics centers because you're imagining they'll generate hundreds or thousands of actual jobs. Yeah, the companies signing on for those tax breaks are all seriously planning on having their facilities be fully automated by the end of the decade. Next, Berlin-based home is a startup that is transforming the property rental space in Europe by acting as a middleman in the market, connecting owners and tenants. Home has raised an 11 million euro series A, quoting tech.eu.

Starting point is 00:13:50 Home acts as both the tenant and the landlord. The German PropTech rents apartments directly from owners, removing the stress and financial risks associated with being a landlord. Owners sign a contract in the Home app in under 30 minutes and from then on simply receive their rent. Using database evaluations, Home then finds the ideal tenants for the apartments. The tenant experience is transformed as well. They simply use the Home app and newly installed digital.

Starting point is 00:14:20 or locks to view and move into apartments, end quote. And third, SYNC, spelled S-N-Y-K, helps developers find vulnerabilities in their open-source apps. SYNC has raised $150 million at a $1 billion valuation, bringing their total funding from the likes of GV and Acell to $250 million. And developers might be very interested in what they do, quoting Venture Beat. Founded in 2015, London-based Sync targets developers rather than cybersecurity personnel to help them find and fix flaws in their source code as well as their containers and Kubernetes applications. The developer connects Sync to a code repository in the likes of GitHub, GitLab, or BitBucket, and Sync then scans for vulnerabilities or license violations. Providing a description of the problem, noting where the flaw lies in the code, issuing a severity rating, and even suggesting a fix.

Starting point is 00:15:19 Underpinning this is a giant vulnerability database maintained by a security team in Israel and London. It's worth noting that Sync monitors source code before, during, and after an app ships. Quote, during development, Sync prevents vulnerabilities from reaching production and helps to fix those that were missed. Sink co-founder and President Guy Pajernay told Venture Beat, quote, Sink continuously monitors the applications and alerts when a newly disclosed vulnerability could impact the customer, end quote. And finally today, I think we mentioned this before, but beginning on Tuesday, a lawsuit is going forward that involves Apple and involves a pretty fundamental aspect of Silicon Valley culture, i.e., this lawsuit could decide if an employee can plan and begin launching a rival startup while still on the payroll of their existing employer. I mean, this is going back to first principles stuff in Silicon Valley, going all the way back to the so-called traitorous eight, who all left jobs. at Shockley Semiconductor in the late 1950s, and then basically went on to found the modern Silicon

Starting point is 00:16:25 Valley, as we know it, with the likes of Fairchild Semiconductor, Intel, and even Kleiner Perkins, the VC firm. I think we spoke about this case before. Gerald Williams, the third, left Apple last year after nine years as the chief chip architect, responsible for creating the custom processors that power all eye devices. He went on to found Nuvia, Inc., which makes chips for servers. Apple sued Williams in August, alleging breach of an intellectual property agreement and a, quote, duty of loyalty. By planning his new startup, they allege, on company time. Notable that Apple is not suing Nuvia itself or any Nuvia co-founders, just Williams. Just last week, the judge in the case, Mark H. Pierce, ruled that the case could proceed but barred Apple from seeking punitive damages. quote, according to a copy of Williams's agreement that Apple attached to its complaint, the contract required that Williams, quote, will not plan or engage in any other employment, end quote, that

Starting point is 00:17:22 competes with Apple or is directly related to the company. In a filing in November, Williams argued that Apple's contract was unenforceable because California law allows employees to make some preparations to compete while still in their current job. Even in California, there are limits, said Cliff Pilski, a prominent San Francisco-based employment attorney. workers can lay some plans for a competitor on their own time, but recruiting fellow employees on company time, quote, gets a little dicey, end quote. In his tentative ruling, Pierce wrote that, quote, An employee is not permitted to plan and prepare to create a competitive enterprise prior to termination

Starting point is 00:17:58 if the employee does so on their employer's time and with the employer's resources, end quote. The case will likely hinge on the specific facts of Williams's planning for Nuvia, Pilski said, given that work at modern tech jobs rarely sticks to traditional business hours. It may be difficult to untangle whether calls were made during company time or personal time. That phrase that you can't plan to compete raises a very interesting question of whether Apple's contract is violative of the public policy and whether the courts are going to enforce it, he said. This is going to be some groundbreaking stuff one way or the other, end quote. hope you all had a good long weekend, if you happened to have one. Hey, quick question for the hive mind out there.

Starting point is 00:18:49 I have two external monitors as my daily setup, as you know. But every time I unplug my MacBook to go into the booth to record like this, when I come back nine times out of ten, the monitors have flip-flopped. What I mean is, you know, I like tweet deck and Slack to be on the left monitor, but when I plug back in, they've often moved to the right. screen and all my open browser tabs, which I like on the right screen, have moved to the left. So my tech support question is simply this. Is there a quick way to flip-flop what's on the monitors, like a keyboard shortcut or something like that, hopefully? Something short of manually

Starting point is 00:19:27 dragging the windows back to the screens that I want them to be on all the time. If you have a solution, tweet it at me or post it in the show Subreddit. And thank you in advance. Talk to you tomorrow.

Tech Brew Ride Home - Tue. 01/21 - Why Didn't Apple Encrypt iCloud Backups?

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