Apple beefs up iCloud data defense against snooping

| By AFP |

Apple on Wednesday said it is beefing up defense of data that users store in the cloud, a move that could thwart authorities as well as hackers.

The iPhone maker’s Advanced Data Protection plan extends something called end-to-end encryption beyond its iMessage service to photos and other data backed up to its iCloud storage service.

Apple said the move was urgent given an alarming increase in data breaches that had seen 1.1 billion personal records exposed across the globe in 2021, according to company research.

“Advanced Data Protection is Apple’s highest level of cloud data security,” said Ivan Krstić, Apple’s head of Security Engineering and Architecture.

20250901_vacunacion_vsr-728x90

20250901_minsal_tetra_-728x90

20250701_vacunacion-influenza-728x90

20250701_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20250701_dengue_728x90

20250715_donacion_sangre_central_728x90

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

It gives “users the choice to protect the vast majority of their most sensitive iCloud data with end-to-end encryption so that it can only be decrypted on their trusted devices,” he added.

Apple told the Wall Street Journal that with the heightened security, it would no longer be able to hand over iMessage history and other files, even when legally requested to do so by investigators.

The move will potentially rekindle a long period of standoffs involving technology firms and law enforcement.

Apple notably resisted a legal effort to weaken iPhone encryption to allow authorities to read messages from a suspect in a 2015 bombing in San Bernardino, California.

Police officials worldwide say encryption can protect criminals, terrorists and pornographers even when authorities have a legal warrant for an investigation.

20250901_vacunacion_vsr-728x90

20250901_minsal_tetra_-728x90

20250701_vacunacion-influenza-728x90

20250701_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20250701_dengue_728x90

20250715_donacion_sangre_central_728x90

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

Civil rights and privacy advocates, along with cybersecurity professionals, however, advocate encrypting data to protect against wrongful snooping by authorities as well as hackers.

“We constantly identify and mitigate emerging threats to (user) personal data on device and in the cloud,” Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi said in a post.

Under the new setting, Apple said only iCloud Mail, Contacts, and Calendar would remain unencrypted because of the need to operate with other systems.

The new level of security will be available in the United States by the end of this month and be rolled out globally next year, Apple said.

Apple has championed data privacy as a way to differentiate itself from tech giants Meta and Google, which closely track online activity by users to boost advertising revenue.

20250901_vacunacion_vsr-728x90

20250901_minsal_tetra_-728x90

20250701_vacunacion-influenza-728x90

20250701_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20250701_dengue_728x90

20250715_donacion_sangre_central_728x90

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

Bolsonaro diagnosed with skin cancer amid coup conviction

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been diagnosed with skin cancer while serving a historic sentence for attempting a coup d’état. His medical team confirmed that the lesions have been removed and that, for now, he does not require further procedures, though he will need regular monitoring.

On Wednesday, September 17, Bolsonaro’s doctors confirmed the diagnosis. The announcement comes shortly after the former leader was convicted of orchestrating an attempted coup.

According to his physician, Claudio Birolini, Bolsonaro has “squamous cell carcinoma, which is neither the most benign nor the most aggressive form — it is intermediate.” Birolini warned, however, that this type of skin cancer “can carry more serious consequences.”

International

Milei praises Paraguay’s growth, calls Argentina’s last 20 years a ‘decline’

Argentine President Javier Milei praised Paraguay’s economic growth over the past two decades during a speech before the Paraguayan Congress on Wednesday (Sept. 17, 2025), crediting it to incentives that favored capitalism. At the same time, he contrasted that progress with what he described as Argentina’s deepening “decline” during the same period.

“If we compare the last 20 years of Paraguay with those of the Argentine Republic, we will find almost diametrically opposite results,” Milei told lawmakers during a special session of Parliament on the second and final day of his official visit to Asunción.

“While you have not stopped growing, we have deepened our decline. If we understand incentives as the engine of capitalism, Paraguay focused on preserving and strengthening them, while Argentina dedicated itself to chaining, directing, and suffocating them,” the right-wing leader stated.

International

Trump administration launches large-scale immigration operation in Chicago

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump intensified a large-scale immigration operation in the Chicago area with the arrival of additional Border Patrol agents on Tuesday and the presence of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem during a raid.

Noem posted a video on her X account showing the immigration operation, in which DHS reportedly removed “violent criminals” from the streets. The footage shows Noem observing the arrest of a man taken into custody at his home early Tuesday morning at an undisclosed location.

“I was in Chicago today to make it clear that we will not back down,” the secretary wrote. “Our work is just beginning,” she added.

The warning from Noem was echoed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Chief Gregory Bovino, who posted a video on X Tuesday showing multiple Border Patrol vehicles arriving in the city with the caption: “Chicago, we are here!”

Bovino, who led the immigration crackdown in Los Angeles implemented since last June, said the team will remain in Chicago to continue the mission they started in California.

20250901_vacunacion_vsr-728x90

20250901_minsal_tetra_-728x90

20250701_vacunacion-influenza-728x90

20250701_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20250701_dengue_728x90

20250715_donacion_sangre_central_728x90

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

Operation “Midway Blitz” is currently focused on the Chicago metropolitan area and its suburbs. Activists and residents have reported sightings of masked agents and unmarked vehicles in predominantly Latino neighborhoods.