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Amazon will reinstall encryption as the main security feature on tablets or and other gadgets that work on its Fire OS. This measure follows a user backlash triggered by the major sensitivity about information privacy after Apple’s court battles with FBI regarding accessibility to San Bernardino terrorist’s phone.
Amazon eliminated this security barrier from the gadgets at the end of 2015 after a strategy considered to possibly cut the costs for its electronic readers and tablets. The gadgets are not designed for interaction with delicate information, even if these items can be utilized to connect to the Internet or email client.
Some customers hated the modification after they upgraded their Fire OS on older gadgets and saw that security was not provided anymore. Amazon changed course last week, saying in a press release that it will reinstall encryption as a main feature on Fire gadgets with a platform upgrade sometime during these months, without offering more details about the move.
The legal fight between Apple and the FBI over accessibility to the San Bernardino terrorist’s locked smart phone has triggered a huge public discussion about controlling IT security and public protection. The majority of important tech companies, such as Amazon, are backing Apple’s stance in this debate.
Eliminating encryption from lower-cost tablets or electronic readers was considered as being harmful for Amazon’s public image during a period when the giant online store is selling its latest voice-enabled virtual assistants.
Among these there is the famous Eco smart speaker, as popular accessories in houses to help users to play songs, dim lighting and order chicken wings directly by voice commands. Encryption defends customer information by scrambling it and only enabling access with passwords.
Amazon eliminated gadget encryption, but interaction between Fire products and the company’s cloud service with information saved in the network, is still secured. Amazon is among the major companies, such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook, that registered court documents supporting Apple in the battle with FBI.
The encryption breech is theoretically possible but less likely to happen, said the company’s experts who studied the problem over an extended period. If a worker wanted to insert harmful software into Amazon’s system, they affirmed that he will be more tempted to utilize a desktop computer or laptop because it is simpler to receive and operate malicious apps on a computer’s OS.
Even if FBI said that is a just one-time demand, many experts have affirmed that it can set an unwanted precedent and will set other backdoors in gadgets, possibly affecting client privacy.
Image source: Techtimes
Brian Galloway
Brian’s philosophy is pretty straightforward: easy living, wishful thinking, heavy criticizing. Despite the fact that he wouldn’t go as far as describe himself a conspirationist, Brian does take everything with a grain of sand. He loves following every lead when covering a story and mostly enjoys to cover politics and US news.
