FBI Accessed San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone Without Apple, Drops Lawsuit
SAN FRANCISCO — The Justice Department (DOJ) announced Monday that it had successfully accessed data on the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters and that it was dropping its lawsuit against Apple to help unlock the phone.
According to a court filing by the DOJ Monday, investigators are no longer seeking Apple's help to penetrate the device used by one of the shooters behind the San Bernardino terrorist attack. In a call with reporters Monday, a law enforcement official said the government had successfully accessed the data, with the assistance of an outside party. The method they used, they said, worked on an iPhone 5c running iOS 9.
The official said that law enforcement was currently reviewing the information stored on the phone. They declined to reveal the name of the outside party which successfully unlocked the phone for the FBI, despite widespread speculation over who was involved and what methods they used.
Apple declined to comment on the DOJ's announcement, and said they do not know which outside party stepped in to help the FBI. The announcement ended a month long standoff between the DOJ and one of the world's most powerful tech companies.
The FBI said that it can not comment on whether it would seek Apple's help on future cases. More than a dozen cases are currently winding their way through the courts which could see law enforcement officials request assistance in unlocking phones, and with Apple promising to double-down on efforts to make its phone impossible to breach, cryptographers say the inevitable privacy vs. security battle will only continue to make headlines.
In a statement Melanie Newman, DOJ Spokesperson, said:
As the government noted in its filing today, the FBI has now successfully retrieved the data stored on the San Bernardino terrorist's iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple required by this Court Order. The FBI is currently reviewing the information on the phone, consistent with standard investigatory procedures.
"It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with cooperation from relevant parties, or through the court system when cooperation fails. We will continue to pursue all available options for this mission, including seeking the cooperation of manufacturers and relying upon the creativity of both the public and private sectors.
United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker said:
The government has asked a United States Magistrate Judge in Riverside, California to vacate her order compelling Apple to assist the FBI in unlocking the iPhone that was used by one of the terrorists who murdered 14 innocent Americans in San Bernardino on December 2nd of last year. Our decision to conclude the litigation was based solely on the fact that, with the recent assistance of a third party, we are now able to unlock that iPhone without compromising any information on the phone.
We sought an order compelling Apple to help unlock the phone to fulfill a solemn commitment to the victims of the San Bernardino shooting – that we will not rest until we have fully pursued every investigative lead related to the vicious attack. Although this step in the investigation is now complete, we will continue to explore every lead, and seek any appropriate legal process, to ensure our investigation collects all of the evidence related to this terrorist attack. The San Bernardino victims deserve nothing less.
The full court filing is below.
via BuzzFeed - Tech http://ift.tt/1Urchf4
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