Brilio.net/en - A representative of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said the organization may have found a way to unlock the San Bernardino attacker's iPhone without involving Apple.
Regarding this matter, tomorrows court hearing with Apple has been postponed at the request of the US Justice Department (DOJ). The iPhone manufacturer has confirmed this.
According to BBC, the DOJ had ordered Apple to unlock the iPhone used by San Bernardino gunman Rizwan Farook. But the technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California has continued to refuse, saying it would set a dangerous precedent.
The terror of San Bernardino, California, last December involved Rizwan Farook and his wife, who killed 14 people before the police shot them dead.
Ever since the issue arose, the public has asked themselves whether the FBI could do that that by themselves. Well, maybe now they can.
The emergence of a potential outside-party method to open the iPhone was a surprise, as the US government said more than a dozen times in court filings that it could open the phone only with Apples help. We would assume its a security companys method, but we dont know yet.
If they can do it, the court case is irrelevant. The FBI gets what they need. But if it doesn't work, we'll find ourselves back here to resume the trial.
But Apples legal team said the company wasnt treating it as a legal victory. This issue is overshadowing Apple. Even in the FBI really found the way, there is no guarantee that it will work. As any software developer would, Apple will try to fix the flaw at once. After all, if FBI finds the way to hack the iPhone, any other hacker will surely know the same undercover information.
Image via spcr
According to the prosecutors, an outside party had demonstrated a possible way to unlock the iPhone without needing Apples help.
Testing is required to determine whether it is a viable method that will not compromise data on Farook's iPhone, a court filing said. If the method is viable, it should eliminate the need for the assistance from Apple.
DOJ spokesperson Melanie Newmain stated that the government was "cautiously optimistic" that the possible method to unlock the phone would work.
The government said it would update the court on April 5th.
Meanwhile, Apples attorneys said that the firm had no idea what method the FBI was exploring to try to unlock the phone. They said they hoped that the government would share with Apple any vulnerabilities of the iPhone that might reveal.
The FBI said that the encrypted iPhone may contain crucial evidence of San Bernardino terror. The organization needs to access the data, but the device can only be unlocked by entering the correct passcode.
Trying to input the incorrect codes too many times could permanently delete all the data inside. Thats why FBI seeks Apples help to develop a new version of its operating system that circumvents some of its security features.
Last month, the DOJ got a court order directing Apple to create such software, but the tech company refused, stating that creating a compromised version of the operating system would have security implications for millions of iPhone users and would set a precedent.
The company has received support from other tech giant fellows including, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, as it resisted a court order to unlock the iPhone.
(brl/red)
