The case of Apple vs FBI will go before a Californian federal court later this month. Whichever side wins, this looks likely to be the most influential court case in a generation when it comes to world cyber security.

Given the high-profile hacking episodes we've seen in the past few years, there cannot be many people who fail to understand what's at stake, and the need to encrypt data. An iPhone encryption back door would be the Holy Grail for black hat hackers, and worth millions on the technology black market. It could also seriously damage Apple's reputation for strict security.

Apple vs FBI

In the Apple corner are right-to-privacy campaigners and technology companies, who argue that creating a code to unlock the iPhone 5C of Syed Farook, one of the shooters in the San Bernardino massacre, would be the equivalent of opening Pandora's Box for hackers. The FBI says the only way certain pass code protections can be deactivated is with Apple's help.

The law suit was recently called a "fool's errand" by Democratic congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, and the Justice Department was accused of undermining privacy and cyber security, and over-reaching its authority. Many on both sides of the political divide in Congress feel the legal action is undermining its authority by circumventing it. 

FBI director James Comey hit back by comparing Apple's cyber security with a "vicious guard dog", saying no technology company should be allowed to create "warrant-free" spaces through encryption, particularly when mobile phone companies make user keys inaccessible to their own staff.

Yet, he also tellingly admitted before Congress that a mistake over resetting the San Bernardino phone's password had potentially robbed the FBI and local law enforcement officials of the chance to get the phone's data without taking on Apple's encryption. He admitted, too, the FBI hadn't factored in real fears the Chinese authorities might also use any legal precedent to force phone companies to weaken their encryption, just at the time the rest of the world is fighting off a series of cyber attacks thought to have originated in China. Both China and Russia have sought back doors into Apple customers' data in the past.

Apple's general counsel Bruce Sewell accused the FBI of taking the legal action to cut off debate on a very serious issue, rather than engage with it. In New York, Department of Justice officials have lodged an appeal against a city magistrate's decision that Apple should not be forced to unlock data in another iPhone involved in a drugs case. Apple vs FBI is starting to look like the thin end of the wedge to tech companies and privacy campaigners.

Privacy is key on the net

The resistance by technology firms is determined because encryption is vital in protecting our data. There are very few areas of our lives which we do not now conduct on mobile devices like iPhones – from drawing up confidential business agreements, to dating. 

Think back to hacking cases in the past few years, and the damage they've done to individuals and businesses. Whatever the rights and wrongs morally, the hacking of the infidelity dating site Ashley Madison, and the release of data involving 33 million user accounts, led to Toronto Police linking two suicides to the data breach, and misery for millions of users and wronged partners. The Talk Talk hacking which led to customers' bank accounts being raided left the firm facing compensation claims in the millions, it has admitted.

More and more companies are now waking up to the need to protect their customers' data, and individuals are realising the need to protect their own privacy. 

What can we do?

Website owners need to educate themselves on the importance of a series of measures, starting with secure sockets layer (SSL) certificates in encrypting messages between senders and receivers to avoid any snooping by third parties. Any website protected by an SSL usually has a URL which begins with https rather than http, and generally has a padlock on the URL to show it's safe.

Hackers hate SSL.

Certificates are only given to validated and genuine websites, and hackers and phishers find they cannot get the certificates for their unvalidated websites. Users straying onto them get a warning. SSL also makes messages between servers and browsers meaningless to hackers, even if they do intercept it. They become illegible.

Some organisations are turning to virtual private networks (VPNs) to boost their security. They are private networks using public wires, usually the internet, and prevent unauthorised users from the network. They block those outside from seeing data using encryption and firewalls. It's particularly useful in accessing public WiFi hotspots, where security might not be adequate.

For many others, there is a need to get the basics right: to perform robust risk assessments when it comes to internal cyber security threats from staff, to identify weaknesses in security and act to eradicate them, and to ensure effective protocols are in place and followed. People are often the weakest link when it comes to keeping data secure.