The legal battle between Apple and the FBI has taken an unexpected turn after the FBI announced that it had successfully hacked the iPhone belonging to the San Bernardino killers. This of course comes as a bit of a surprise to Apple as well as to Apple customers, since most assume that iPhones are secure.
Apparently, the FBI revealed that they had assistance from a mystery third party that has not yet been identified, who was able to unlock the phone without destroying it or the stored data. The original case was brought by the FBI against Apple; the federal cybersecurity analysts and officers demanded that Apple unlock the iPhone and install software on all iPhones that would allow federal agencies to access the data with warrants. Of course, Apple argued in return, stating that if a “key” were made, it would eventually fall into the wrong hands – the hands of many hackers and pose a cybersecurity threat to all of its users, as well as pose a potential federal cybersecurity threat to the FBI system that may be linked at that point.
After the FBI revealed that they had gained access to the data on the phone, Apple demanded to know how. It was recently uncovered that Apple had unlocked iPhones for the FBI 70 times in the past. Apple CEO Tim Cook finally declared that he would not bow to the demand of federal cybersecurity officers; no more unlocking phones. A court case between Apple and the FBI was brought forward by the tech giant in 2015. Apple has now decided to demand details regarding how the FBI hacked the phones of the San Bernardino Killers in this active court case.
