Users of Apple devices in the UK are at the most risk in the world of being hacked, following a secret government order requiring the tech company to allow backdoor access to its users encrypted data, the House of Lords heard on Monday 31 March.Liberal peer Paul Strasburger pressed the government to answer questions about a decision by the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, to issue a secret notice against Apple.The order, first reported in the Wall Street Journal, extends law enforcement and intelligence services access to encrypted data stored on Apples iCloud to include users of Apples secure Advanced Data Protection (ADP) service.The existence of the order, known as a technical capability notice (TCN), was confirmed when Apple withdrew its ADP service for UK users in February while continuing to provide the service to people overseas. Apple would not have done this unless it felt compelled to do so by a request to insert a backdoor, the US Congress claimed in a letter to the IPT.In questions posed in the House of Lords on Monday, Strasburger said the government had demonstrated its disdain for the privacy and digital security of British citizens and companies by issuing the TCN against Apple.The Liberal peer said the order would introduce weaknesses to encryption on Apple devices that could be exploited by criminals and hostile states.Strong encryption is essential to protect our data and our commerce from attack by organised crime and rogue states, he said. Any weakness inserted into encryption for the benefit of the authorities is also available to those who would do us harm yet that is precisely what the government are demanding from Apple.Apple is challenging the legality of the governments order in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), which discussed arguments in a closed-door hearing on 14 March.Civil society groups Privacy International and Liberty, along with two individuals whose security has been impacted by the governments order against Apple, have filed separate legal interventions.Ten newspapers, publishers and broadcasters including Computer Weekly have also filed legal submissions calling for Apples appeal against the widely publicised order to be heard in open court on public interest grounds.Non-affiliated peer Claire Fox said it was not possible for Apple to open doors to its customers data in a way that would ensure that only the police and intelligence services would have access to its users encrypted data.It is obvious that criminals, foreign adversaries and others would exploit that weakness, she said.Fox said it was baffling if the Home Office was choosing to bully tech companies into undermining their users privacy, security, civil liberties and free speech while at the same time seeking to establish the UK as a leading hub for innovation and technology.Liberal democrat peer Tim Clement Jones told the Lords that the government could be in breach of the European Court of Human Rights following a key judgment by the court last year.In the case of Podchasov v Russia, the European Court of Human Rights found that weakening end-to-end encryption or creating backdoors could not be justified under human rights law.Labour peer Toby Harris asked what consideration had been given to the trade-off between the general weakening of security and confidentiality compared with the gains made by the security services in being able to decrypt data stored by Apple.Home Office minister and Labour peer David Hanson repeatedly declined to answer questions from peers, citing national security reasons.We have a long-standing position of protecting privacy while ensuring that action can be taken against child sexual abusers and terrorists, he said.I cannot comment on operational matters today, including neither confirming nor denying the existence of any notices. This has been the long-standing position of successive UK governments for reasons of national security.Conservative peer Daniel Moylan pressed Hanson to comment on Apples decision to publicly withdraw its ADP encryption service from the UK, even if he could not comment on whether a notice had been issued.He also asked the home office minister whether the US and UK governments had any high-level discussions about the order against Apple. Bloomberg reported on 13 March that the US and UK governments were holding private talks in an attempt to resolve US concerns that the UK was trying to force Apple to create a backdoor that would allow the UK access to encrypted data belonging to US citizens.Hanson said he could not comment on the matter.Decisions made by Apple are a matter for Apple, and the removal of any features is a matter for Apple. Again, for reasons of national security I cannot confirm or deny any conversations that we have had or any issues that are undertaken, he saidThe Investigatory Powers Act contained robust safeguards and oversight to protect privacy and ensure that data is obtained only on an exceptional basis and only when necessary and proportionate to do so, he added.A Home Office spokesperson said: We do not comment on operational matters, including, for example, confirming or denying the existence of any such notices.Media companies have asked the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to hold hearings into Apples appeal against the technical capability notice in open court.Separately, Big Brother Watch, Index on Censorship and the Open Rights Group have written an open letter to the tribunal calling for an open court hearing.The media companies challenging the secrecy of Apples appeal in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal are Associated Newspapers Ltd, the British Broadcasting Corporation, Computer Weekly, Financial Times Group, Guardian News & Media, News Group Newspapers, Reuters News and Media, Sky News, Telegraph Media Group and Times Media.Timeline of UK governments order for a backdoor into Apples encrypted iCloud service7 February: Tech companies brace after UK demands backdoor access to Apple cloud The UK has served a notice on Apple demanding backdoor access to encrypted data stored by users anywhere in the world on Apples cloud service.10 February: Apple: British techies to advise on devastating UK global crypto power grab A hitherto unknown British organisation, which even the government may have forgotten about, is about to be drawn into a global technical and financial battle, facing threats from Apple to pull out of the UK.13 February: UK accused of political foreign cyber attack on US after serving secret snooping order on Apple US administration asked to kick UK out of 65-year-old UK-US Five Eyes intelligence sharing agreement after secret order to access encrypted data of Apple users.14 February: Top cryptography experts join calls for UK to drop plans to snoop on Apples encrypted data Some of the worlds leading computer science experts have signed an open letter calling for home secretary Yvette Cooper to drop a controversial secret order to require Apple to provide access to users encrypted data.21 February: Apple withdraws encrypted iCloud storage from UK after government demands backdoor access After the Home Office issued a secret order for Apple to open up a backdoor in its encrypted storage, the tech company has instead chosen to withdraw the service from the UK.26 February: US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard probes UK demand for Apples encrypted data 5 March: Apple IPT appeal against backdoor encryption order is test case for bigger targets The Home Office decision to target Apple with an order requiring access to users encrypted data is widely seen as a stalking horse for attacks against encrypted messaging services WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal.11 March: Secret London tribunal to hear appeal in Apple vs government battle over encryption A secret tribunal is due to meet at the High Court in London to hear tech giant Apple appeal against a Home Office order to compromise the encryption of data stored by its customers on the iCloud service worldwide.13 March: US Congress demands UK lifts gag on Apple encryption order Apple and Google have told US lawmakers that they cannot tell Congress whether they have received technical capability notices from the UK.14 March: The Investigatory Powers Tribunal holds a day-long secret hearing into an appeal brought by Apple against a government notice requiring it to provide law enforcement access to data encrypted by its Advanced Data Protection service on the iCloud, despite calls for the hearing to be opened to the public.