FBI Unlocks iPhone Without Apple’s Help

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) managed to unlock the iPhone used by San Bernardino terrorism suspect Syed Farook without Apples help, effectively ending its high profile legal battle with Apple Inc. The Justice Department claimed that it received help from a third party though they remain mum about the name of the organization or the means they employed to unlock the phone.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker said that the "decision to conclude the litigation was based solely on the fact that, with the recent assistance of a third party" they are now able to unlock phone while ensuring that the information is still intact. Decker also mentioned that the investigation will continue in order to ensure that any evidence related to the terrorist attack is properly collected.

Justice Department spokeswoman Melanie Newman also claimed that the FBI is now in the process of reviewing the date on Farook's phone in a manner that is consistent with the agency's standard investigatory procedures.

A killer's unbreakable phone

The owner of the iPhone in question was Syed Farook who, together with his wife, killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December 2015. Both Farook and his wife were killed in a shootout with the police and soon after, the government was able to recover Farook's iPhone 5C.

Farook enabled his phone's encryption technology which effectively prevented anyone - and apparently, even the FBI - from accessing the contents of the phone without the device's PIN. With Apple's refusal to unlock the phone for them, the FBI went to court demanding that phone maker help them unlock the device's contents.

This new development on the FBI vs. Apple case, however, means that the court won't be able to rule on whether or not technology companies such as Apple can be compelled by the judiciary to help government agencies like the FBI and Justice Department break the encryption of their customers' devices.

Apple's firm stand

Apple has released a statement saying the FBI and Justice Department should never even attempted to force them to cooperate on the first place.

"From the beginning, we objected to the FBI's demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the government's dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought."

Despite that, Apple still expressed its willingness to cooperate with the government saying: "We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated."