Apple, Inc. is a company that is easy to dislike, from their secretive nature, non-open app store, through to their sycophant fans.

And then they do something that makes you think, wow, maybe they are really cool after all.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that in the face of legal pressure from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to build a backdoor into its iOS, Apple has decided to double-down on its encryption efforts and make it even harder again for anyone to access an iOS powered device.

You read that right: Apple is delivering an epic F.U. to the Feds and is making iOS even more secure.

The change Apple is reported to be making involves a troubleshooting feature that currently allows Apple to install new firmware on an iPhone, and hence upgrade the operating system to a newer version without the need for a password; in short because this functionality exists the FBI can demand that Apple create a new version of iOS for the iPhone 5c of Syed Farook, the San Bernardino terrorist, and install it on the phone so as to bypass the existing requirement for a password.

With the planned changes, which Apple referred to as a “security update” in a call with reporters last week, the feature may be modified so that a firmware update would always require a password, or alternatively we could see the feature dropped altogether; whichever Apple chooses, the end result would be an uncrackable iPhone.

Government intervention

Given the FBI wants a permanent backdoor into the iOS operating system, the news that Apple is doubling down on its efforts won’t be received well by many parts of the Government.

While Apple’s role here is a noble one and they are indeed doing the right by their users, their refusal so far to cooperate with the FBI has come to the attention of Washington D.C. and that could mean one of two things: the Obama Administration using existing powers to force Apple’s hand, or perhaps more worryingly new laws could be introduced via the House of Representatives and/or the Senate that not only forces Apple to introduce a backdoor to iOS, but all phone manufacturers as well; Republican lawmakers, and indeed the next likely GOP candidate for President Donald J. Trump are all on the record as being against Apple over this issue, so the idea of a legislative response isn’t far-fetched.

Whatever the outcome over the longer period, a toast to Tim Cook and Apple for doing the right thing; Steve Jobs would be proud.

Image credit: iphonedigital/Flickr/CC by 2.0