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| Apple CEO Tim Cook has warned about the dangers of creating a 'backdoor' in any encryption |
APPLE CEO Tim Cook has warned against Government plans to give spies a "back door" into Britons' emails because weakening security could help criminals.
Apple CEO Mr Cook has warned the UK that any attempt to weaken encryption could have "very dire consequences", harming consumers by making their data less secure.
Under proposals in Theresa May's Investigatory Powers Bill – announced earlier this month – communications firms will be legally required to help spies hack into suspects' smartphones and computers.
Domestic providers will be obliged to assist intelligence agencies when they are given warrants to carry out equipment interference .
But by offering a "back door" to intelligence and terror-prevention agencies – it creates an opportunity for criminals and hackers.
"Any back door is a back door for everyone," Apple CEO Mr Cook told the Daily Telegraph.
"Everybody wants to crack down on terrorists. Everybody wants to be secure. The question is how. Opening a back door can have very dire consequences."
Apple's own iMessage service, like WhatsApp and SnapChat, uses end-to-end encryption – blocking any intelligence agency from intercepting and reading the messages.
"We don't think people want us to read their messages. We don't feel we have the right to read their emails," said Mr Cook.
"To protect people who use any products, you have to encrypt. You can just look around and see all the data breaches that are going on."
The Apple CEO's warning comes hours after it emerged hackers had gained access to Parliament's secure network, locked down sensitive files and held an MP to ransom.
Talk Talk was also victim of a devastating hack last month, which exposed the personal details of some 141,400 customers and the bank account numbers and sort codes of a further 15,600 people.
"These things are becoming more frequent," cautioned Mr Cook "They can not only result in privacy breaches but also security issues. We believe very strongly in end-to-end encryption and no back doors."
Home Secretary Theresa May last week unveiled the full extent of the draft Investigatory Powers Bill, which was watered down from an earlier version dubbed a Snoopers' Charter by critics who prevented it reaching parliament.
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| The Apple CEO has warned the Investigatory Powers Bill would leave Britons vulnerable |
"It will provide the strongest safeguards and world-leading oversight arrangements," Theresa May told parliament.
"And it will give the men and women of our security and intelligence agencies and our law enforcement agencies... the powers they need to protect our country."
One of the biggest and most controversial new powers afforded in the bill will force broadband firms to hold basic details of every service and website you have accessed online.
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| The Investigatory Powers Bill is a watered down edit of an earlier draft, dubbed Snoopers' Charter |
Also included was a technique which would allow authorities to interfere with electronic devices in order to obtain data and can range from remotely accessing a computer to covertly downloading the contents of a mobile phone.
It is seen as an increasingly crucial tool as advanced encryption makes intercepting targets' communications more difficult.
There are also fears in technology circles the new Government proposals will hit services offering "end-to-end encryption" such as WhatsApp and Apple's iMessage, despite the Home Secretary's assurances that the legislation "will not ban encryption or do anything to undermine the security of people's data".
The proposed new laws could impose obligations on telecommunications providers requiring them to remove "electronic protection" applied to "communications or data".
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| End-to-end encryption could successfully prevent your data from being intercepted and read |
But Mr Cook is adamant that including the ability to remove encryption creates new opportunities for data theft and hacks.
He told the Daily Telegraph: "It's not the case that encryption is a rare thing that only two or three rich companies own and you can regulate them in some way.
"Encryption is widely available. It may make someone feel good for a moment but it's not really of benefit.
"If you halt or weaken encryption, the people that you hurt are not the folks that want to do bad things. It's the good people. The other people know where to go."
But Mr Cook said he was "optimistic" that the British Government would change its approach.
"When the public gets engaged, the press gets engaged deeply, it will become clear to people what needs to occur.
"You can't weaken cryptography. You need to strengthen it. You need to stay ahead of the folks that want to break it."
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