Apple chief executive Tim Cook.
Silicon Valley is not letting Apple go it alone.
More than two dozen technology companies said this week that they stand with Apple in its battle with the FBI, by filing "friend of the court" briefs supporting the tech firm.
Notably, a group including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon filed together, agreeing with Apple's position that the government request to have Apple write code that weakens its security protocols on its iPhone operating system oversteps its authority.
It's obvious that many of those companies compete not only with Apple, but also with each other. So why come together in support of a business rival?
Box chief executive Aaron Levie, whose cloud-storage company signed onto the brief with Google and others, said there is a clear reason that Silicon Valley is so engaged here: they believe the precedent set in this case affects all of their businesses.
Tech firms are eager to have this conversation, he said, because many believe the FBI's request threatens the foundations of all software and product security.
"We need to build technology that is secure and has no known weaknesses," Levie said.
"As we get further into the digital age, so much more is being fundamentally driven by these technologies. The future is all going to be about the trust in the security of those technologies."
Box's clients trust their data is secure, Levie said. But if companies such as Apple or Box can be ordered to write code designed to circumvent their security, firms can no longer promise customers their information is completely safe, he said.
"Trust is paramount in the business we're in," Levie said. "That trust is broken sometimes, but we have the expectation that companies and tech providers will do everything they can to ensure that their information is secure as humanly possible."
Source:Washington Post
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