Hacktivist group Anonymous has released a video and accompanying evidence which claims that Apple's TouchID technology has strong links to the NSA and FBI, as well as a massive biometric database the US government is building.
The group alleges that it has discovered a "corrupt alliance of Department of Defense Contractors, NSA and CIA connected venture capital" which led to the development of the technology, and Apple's subsequent purchase of it.
The presented findings are based on investigations by jailed and gagged journalist Barrett Brown, the video says, and the group has provided links to accompanying evidence on Pastebin.
"Contrary to what a popular hacking contest would have you believe, the primary risk with the iPhone 5S ID scanner has nothing to do with a stranger lifting your fingerprints from a beer stein," the video states.
Furthermore, Anonymous says that documents obtained by the group from US defence contractor ManTech in 2010, suggest that the US has built a massive biometric database "for use both domestically and on the battlefield", which is set to be populated with any information government agencies can get their hands on.
The claims are based on a number of pieces of evidence which Anonymous presents in the video.
The first, and seemingly most important to Anonymous, is an alleged link between AuthenTec, the company which Apple bought in order to gain the TouchID technology, and "the most powerful and corrupt Defense Department and intelligence community contractors and figures".
Highlighting the link between big business and the government in the US, the video particularly looks into the history of one previous
AuthenTec director, Robert E. Grady, who was a prominent figure in the George Bush administration, as well as a speechwriter for Bush senior.
Whilst sitting on the board of AuthenTec, Grady was a lead partner in investment group The Carlyle Group which, as well as previously owning AuthenTec, is the majority shareholder of Booz Allen Hamilton, the NSA contractor which employed Edward Snowden. Grady has since left the Carlyle Group.
Further claims presented are, that the AuthenTec board of directors made sure that only Apple could purchase the company, and that they particularly wanted this, as if Apple adopted the technology, it is likely that other companies will follow suit. The final piece of evidence presented is the ManTech documents.
"To be blunt, with the launch of Apple's iPhone 5S the surveillance world has gone from biometric creep into an all-out assault on everything they can grab on our bodies. What will you do to protect yourself and the ones you love?" the video concludes.
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