Thomas D. Wason: IPhone’s Pandora’s Box

Regarding the Feb. 20 news article “U.S. slams Apple CEO for refusing to help”: The desire of the FBI to unlock the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone is countered by the desire for security.

Consider that in the not too distant future, scanning the QR code, that square block of little squares, will be a common way to use credit and debit cards. Such smartphone scans are already used as boarding passes in some airports. Sweden expects to be a cashless society soon.

Once an iPhone is unlocked for the FBI, other security and law enforcement agencies will want to be able to do the same. A leak of the unlocking technology is inevitable. The potential financial risks for the user are considerable.

We need to think about the unintended consequences of forcing the unlocking of a phone.

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Thomas D. Wason: IPhone’s Pandora’s Box."