В общем, тут нужно мнение эксперта по компьютерной безопасности.
Я спросил знакомого, который как раз и является таким специалистом, причём и теоретиком, и практиком, и при этом может хакнуть почти всё (как говорят «it takes a thief to catch a thief»). Его ответ (который противоречит в том числе и высказанному мной мнению)
Цитата:
What is a good publicly available and technically correct exposition of this story?
There are many... Look for the summaries from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)---these are people we occasionally work with on technical matters.
Цитата:
Can really Apple deactivate auto–erase feature if it was activated by user?
Yes. Apple has the infrastructure to update its phones with any code, so long as the update code is signed with Apple's key. This is the classic RSA asymmetric encryption: the software includes the public key and checks the signature before applying the update; Apple holds the private key of the pair, which alone would make the check pass.
BTW, Intel uses the same asymmetric crypto to reprogram its processors.
Цитата:
Is it feasible to take the flash-drive out and break the disk-wide encryption (for Apple? For someone else, say FBI or NSA?)
Absolutely. The FBI simply wants to create a precedent in which all the costs are to be borne by Apple and all the work is to be done by them.
In effect, the FBI wants to create a precedent by which they can deputise
any technology company to do what they tell them to do.
NSA is certain to have this already---but the NSA is military/spies, and the FBI is the police; their accontability varies hugely.