Apple Vs FBI: The Bureau says it may not need Apple’s help to decrypt iPhone

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says it may have found a way to unlock the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook without any help from Apple.

The Justice Department said that they no longer need any assistance from Apple to crack into the iPhone 5c belonging to the San Bernardino attacker, who was shot dead by authorities when along with his wife Tashfeen Malik, he opened fire at a christmas party at the Inland Regional Centre, California in 2015, killing 14.

According to the FBI, an “outside party” has demonstrated a “possible method for unlocking” the iPhone 5c used by Farook, leading the Bureau to request a federal judge to postpone Tuesday's court hearing date.

The New York Times reports that the new court filing says that the government needs time to trial and test the “possible method” to decrypt the iPhone. If the method works, it would help FBI “eliminate the need for Apple to cooperate.”

The government has been ordered to file a report on the status of the testing by April 5.

The news comes a month after the US Justice Department ordered Apple to help the FBI unlock the phone used by Farook. Apple had opposed the court order, citing privacy concerns, with CEO Tim Cook calling for a public debate on the matter.

“We are challenging the FBI’s demands with the deepest respect for American democracy and a love of our country,” wrote Cook in the open letter published on the company’s website.

This led to a legal battle between the bureau and the world’s most valuable company.

Meanwhile, Apple engineers engaged in the development of the security of the software indicated that they would rather quit than comply with the government’s order to weaken the security of the iPhone software.

March 22 Apple/FBI hearing Vacated by Roberto Baldwin

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