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.