Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance was one of the witnesses who testified before the House Judiciary Committee last week (you can read details of that hearing here), taking the side of the FBI.

Yesterday, Vance went on TV (you can watch the interview here) to lay out his case on Fox News’ Mornings with Maria. Vance does a solid job laying out his argument and is well worth watching. Keep these two thoughts in mind, though:

• If Apple built in the backdoor that Vance is seeking, hackers would no doubt get at your data without having to seek a court order.
• Once the bad guys realize that their iPhone communications are vulnerable, they’ll adopt any of the myriad of alternative encryption mechanisms available to them as open source tools. Which means we’ll have given away our privacy for no gain.

Good to absorb both sides of this battle, keep clear why Apple’s position is both correct and vital. Note also that Vance says that he thinks the answer lies with Congress, but that he is pursuing a path through the courts.