Who is the new iPod Touch addressed to? Hawks of privacy

A year ago, a team of FBI agents executed a warrant to search the storage unit of former president of the Donald Trump campaign, Paul Manafort.

Now serving a prison sentence in Pennsylvania for fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy, Manafort had already been the subject of a multi-year criminal investigation. When the agents went into the storage unit, they found a stack of seven iPod Touch. Why would a man known for his international relations as a lobbyist for world dictators be storing iPods?

Apple announced today the launch of the next generation iPod Touch starting at $ 199. There is always something weird, almost funny when Apple launches a new iPod, because it is a key technological product that has turned the industry forever – there is is around 18 years old. It is not exactly a device that changes the world in the usual way: the processor is an old news, the operating system is the usual Apple iOS, the hardware is equivalent to an iPhone 7.

What good is this thing now more than a decade into the era of iPhones and Androids?

Judging by the public's reaction to Apple's announcement, most people do not see much appeal. It is for parents of young children who may not have their own cell phone plan. Beyond that, these devices will be useless for many people. But there are some important exceptions.

The iPod Touch is an exceptionally powerful device for security and privacy. The new iPod comes with an A10 chip, the processor of the iPhone 7, which again likely includes Apple's Secure Enclave technology to process particularly sensitive information. We contacted Apple for confirmation.

The hardware and software are similar, in most cases, to any iPhone – one of the safest technologies a consumer can buy today. That's what the iPod Touch does not have that sets it apart.

The iPod Touch does not have cellular service. This is a puzzle for most people and, at the same time, a real potential benefit for people who need to put a lot of money into their privacy. Human rights defenders, lawyers, politicians, spies or journalists can potentially take advantage of the shortcomings of the iPod Touch – or perhaps the dictator's best friend, like Manafort. Vice President, Joseph Cox, is a leading advocate of the iPod Touch strategy for privacy.

All the phones in your pocket are constantly calling cell towers looking for a service.

Diverting cell phone numbers is a well known and powerful tactic. The vulnerabilities of the SS7 protocol used by global telecoms have proved open to exploiting tools that private hacking companies like the NSO Group are selling to governments around the world. Cox's reports have shown that you can not trust your mobile operators: the phone companies keep and sell location data to the highest bidders, including bounty hunters – a topical problem, according to Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Using an iPod Touch with encrypted messengers such as Signal (using a phone number generated freely by a service such as Google Voice for Americans) can turn the least expensive iOS compatible device into the market in a secure messaging machine that eliminates some of the most powerful attack surfaces to smartphones today.

Starting at $ 199, the iPod Touch creates a solid "burner" device. The reasons for needing a burner may vary from person to person. For journalists on the move, for example, crossing borders abroad means that their privacy is threatened. Frontier areas around the world, including the United States, are renowned for their intrusive device searches, with rules allowing unlimited searches for devices without suspicion and without discrimination. Being in a new country also means that a high-risk person, like a journalist, can be more easily targeted for surveillance. In this situation, a separate but powerful device, harder to track and free of all the data from your personal smartphone, can be a useful tool.

We do not know exactly what the iPod Touch collection by Paul Manafort was. We know that the prosecutors and Manafort's own defense team paid particular attention to the devices. At one point, Manafort's lawyers laughably claimed that the iPod Touch could only be used to play music. In fact, it is a cheap and fully capable iOS device, released from all telecommunications.

The iPod Touch as a secure device is not for everyone. But for the right person, it could be what protects them when they need it the most.