It’s the digital security training team at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), with security news that keeps you, your sources, and your devices safe. If someone shared this newsletter with you, please subscribe here.
A win for transparency in Apple’s Advanced Data Protection case
Apple’s Advanced Data Protection service hardens its iCloud offering by using further encryption to prevent even Apple from accessing users’ iCloud data. The U.K.’s Home Office has attempted to order Apple to provide global access to this data and keep this request out of the public eye, prompting Apple to remove access to Advanced Data Protection in the United Kingdom. The investigatory powers tribunal, responsible for investigating whether U.K. intelligence services are acting lawfully, confirmed on April 7 that Apple has successfully appealed the government’s request to keep these hearings secret. Judges sided with Apple, suggesting that the hearings can at least partly be conducted in public and that this would not have an adverse impact on national security. Read more.
What you can do
- Apple users outside of the U.K. should turn on Advanced Data Protection to get end-to-end encryption for many kinds of data in iCloud, particularly users with any sensitive reporting materials or source contact information on their devices. The more people use it, the harder it will be to justify shutting it down. Learn how here.
- Our former intern Kevin Pham wrote an introduction to Advanced Data Protection. Check it out.
Updates from our team
- On April 13, my colleague Davis Erin Anderson will be at the 2025 Women in Journalism Workshop at the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri. She’ll be leading a workshop session on keeping yourself, your data, and your sources safer. Learn more and sign up.
Our team is always ready to assist journalists with digital security concerns. Reach out here, and stay safe and secure out there.
Best,
Martin
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Martin Shelton
Deputy Director of Digital Security
Freedom of the Press Foundation
