Encryption, says Apple's CEO, is a force for good in a world of bad actors.
In his first public remarks on the subject since the FBI broke into the San Bernardino iPhone—puncturing Apple's myth of uncrackability—Tim Cook on Friday talked about how the company can, with longer keys and multiple algorithms, stay ahead of the hackers and the Feds.
"I realize that in some cases people have tried to make encryption out to be bad," he said during the Q&A at a Utah tech tour hosted by Sen. Orin Hatch. On the contrary: "Encryption is inherently great."
Asked whether ordinary citizens can still have a reasonable expectation of privacy, Cook made a pitch for the ecosystem he sells. "Yes," he said. "You do if you are an Apple customer."
But the message Cook is really sending, an international cybersecurity expert tells me, is that foreign governments spooked by the Snowden revelations can trust U.S. technology, even if they can't trust the U.S. government.
The 3:50 minute clip below is taken an attendee's video shot on Friday.
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