{"id":823,"date":"2016-03-04T06:08:49","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T06:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dogoodsoft.com\/blog\/?p=823"},"modified":"2024-12-23T07:57:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T07:57:52","slug":"amazon-dropping-fire-encryption-has-nothing-to-do-with-apple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dogoodsoft.com\/blog\/amazon-dropping-fire-encryption-has-nothing-to-do-with-apple-823\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon Dropping Fire Encryption Has Nothing to Do With Apple"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Today, several reports pointed out that Amazon\u2019s Fire OS 5 does not support device encryption, drawing a connection between the company\u2019s encryption retreat and the current Apple-FBI iPhone unlocking fracas. But Amazon\u2019s decision to remove Fire OS 5\u2019s onboard encryption is not a new development, and it\u2019s not related to the iPhone fight. The real question at hand is why Amazon decided to roll back encryption protection for consumers all on its own.<\/p>\n

Introduced last fall, Amazon\u2019s Fire OS 5 featured a refreshing redesign that added several usability features. But Fire OS 5 also took away device encryption support, while still maintaining security features for communication between devices and Amazon\u2019s cloud.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the fall when we released Fire OS 5, we removed some enterprise features that we found customers weren\u2019t using,\u201d Amazon spokesperson Robin Handaly told WIRED. \u201cAll Fire tablets\u2019 communication with Amazon\u2019s cloud meet our high standards for privacy and security, including appropriate use of encryption.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve reached out again for clarification as to what \u201cappropriate use\u201d of encryption entails in Amazon\u2019s view.<\/p>\n

To be clear, removing encryption protections of any kind from Fire tablets should be seen as a step back for consumers, and for security as a whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazon\u2019s decision is backward\u2014it not only moves away from default device encryption, where other manufacturers are headed, but removes all choice by the end user to decide to encrypt it after purchase,\u201d says Nathan White, Senior Legislative Manager at digital rights organization Access Now. \u201cThe devices themselves also become more attractive targets for thieves. Users should no longer trust these devices: If you wouldn\u2019t post it to the internet publicly, don\u2019t put it on a Fire Tablet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further, Amazon\u2019s insistence that it maintains a secure connection with the cloud doesn\u2019t ease concerns over the data on the device itself that\u2019s now vulnerable.<\/p>\n

\u201cData encryption at rest and data encryption in motion are two completely different things,\u201d says White. \u201cThey shouldn\u2019t conflate two important issues by saying \u2018we encrypt in motion, so data at rest doesn\u2019t matter.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Even without the cloud connection, a device stores all sorts of personal information, from email credentials to credit card numbers to sensitive business information, if you happen to be an enterprise user. In fact, the lack of encryption means corporate customers aren\u2019t able to use certain email clients on Fire tablets any longer.<\/p>\n

Amazon\u2019s move is a bad one. But it\u2019s not a retreat in the face of Apple-FBI pressures. For better or worse (mostly worse), it\u2019s been this way for months. As Handaly noted, Fire OS 5 came out last fall, on a suite of new Amazon devices. Amazon message board users have been commenting on, and complaining about, the absence of encryption since at least early January.<\/p>\n

So why the sudden focus? Likely because of this tweet:<\/p>\n

\"Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

People are talking about the lack of encryption today because the OS update is only now hitting older devices, like the fourth-generation Fire HD and Fire HDX 8.9. Despite how neatly the sudden forfeiture of encryption by a tech giant fits the Apple-FBI narrative, this encryption deprecation isn\u2019t related to that battle. Instead, Amazon appears to have given up onboard encryption without any public fight at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis move does not help users. It does not help corporate image. And it does not fit into industry trends,\u201d says Amie Stepanovich, US Policy Manager at Access Now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, several reports pointed out that Amazon\u2019s Fire OS 5 does not support device encryption, drawing a connection between the company\u2019s encryption retreat and the current Apple-FBI iPhone unlocking fracas. But Amazon\u2019s decision to remove Fire OS 5\u2019s onboard encryption is not a new development, and it\u2019s not related to the iPhone fight. The real … Continue reading Amazon Dropping Fire Encryption Has Nothing to Do With Apple<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[331,60,52],"class_list":["post-823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-amazon","tag-apple","tag-encryption"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dogoodsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dogoodsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dogoodsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dogoodsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dogoodsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=823"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dogoodsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":826,"href":"https:\/\/www.dogoodsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823\/revisions\/826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dogoodsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dogoodsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dogoodsoft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}