John Oliver has a talent for explaining data security concepts in terms that Americans understand: With pop cultural references, rock-bottom expectation of politicians, and of course, an emphasis on safeguarding dick pics. Now he's taken on Apple's standoff with the FBI over the iPhone's full disk encryption, and explained it in what may be the clearest terms yet. In the process, he offers a primer in everything from the history of the Clipper Chip to car hacking (featuring a cameo from none other than WIRED's Jeep hacking video) to a rundown of strong arguments against mandating backdoors in encrypted communications.
The segment ends with his suggestion for an Apple ad that makes the case for crypto far better, perhaps, than anything Apple itself has said in public. And it also offers a catchy new slogan for any tech firm trying to protect user data from sophisticated hackers: "Join us as we dance madly on the lip of the volcano."
Oh, and if you forgot about the Jeep hack and want to watch the full video of Andy Greenberg driving a car down a highway as hackers cut the transmission, here you go.
