If you’re using iMessage, here’s why the Turkish government might think you’re a spy
The latest arrest and deportation of foreign journalists reveals how misunderstood encryption technology is in Turkey.
The Aug. 27 arrests of two journalists and their translator in Turkey raised important questions about freedom of the press and human rights in the country. But it also brought to light issues about cybersecurity, privacy and a not-so-well-known concern: A lot of people who need to understand encryption software do not.
The two Vice News journalists, Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury, were released Sept. 3, but their Turkey-based Iraqi translator, Mohammed Ismael Rasool, is still locked up in a prison in Adana.
Many observers say the journalists were arrested to keep them from documenting clashes between the government and the youth wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). It was peculiar that the men initially were arrested for allegedly working with the Islamic State (IS) and later were accused of aiding the outlawed PKK. The basis for those accusations apparently was that the men were using the same Internet encryption software used by IS.
One Washington correspondent for a Turkish daily newspaper recently said on Twitter that he uses only open-source information and has nothing to hide, so he doesn't need encryption on his electronic devices. His baffled followers tried to explain what encryption is, why it is a necessity and how several services and gadgets provide it by default. This is just one of many examples that make it clear the concept is misunderstood among Turks.
