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FBI cracks iPhone without Apple’s help

Following almost two months of heated court battles between Apple and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of Justice managed to find a way to crack the iPhone 5c involved in the San Bernardino shooting without Apple’s help. On Monday, the FBI abandoned its legal pursue against Apple as they could finally unlock the iPhone for further investigations.

The FBI then announced the cease of any legal demand for the tech company giant to help them unlock the security of the shooter’s iPhone. The investigation saw many bold statements from both court magistrates and Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, as the main concern was the security of user’s privacy.

On Monday, the FBI abandoned its legal pursue against Apple as they could finally unlock the iPhone for further investigations. Photo credit: Bryan Thomas/Getty Images

The case between Apple and the FBI – although already dismissed officially – stirred commotion amongst Apple users as it posed a threat to its security protocols. The court case got more attention than expected when the tech company giant raised issues regarding people’s information to be monitored.

The order from the U.S. Justice Department would have required Apple to create a backdoor access for the federal agency to access the iPhone involved in the case. In spite of that, the FBI was able to crack the iPhone anyways, possibly thanks to the help of the data retrieving company Cellebrite.

Then again, in previous court debates against Apple, the government stated Apple was the only one who could tamper with the iPhone’s security protocols. So it seems as if the government’s statement is being twisted for its own benefit in the federal investigation regarding the San Bernardino shootings.

 A mysterious third party

The company Cellebrite specializes in retrieving data from encrypted code systems and has apparently proven its worth if they’re the ones responsible for it, as the iPhone 5c from San Bernardino’s shooter Syed Farook has been finally unlocked. Yet, the details on how the federal agency actually got access to the iPhone still remains a mystery.

The third party, Cellebrite, approached the FBI in its moment of stress last week to offer a way to break the iPhone’s code without the help of the company that created the device. Ironically for the FBI and the U.S. Government, Apple had already been ordered to help unlock the device involved in the federal case and was about to concede to the court demands.

Nevertheless, the tech company giant Apple has not given any response to the latest developments regarding its legal battle against the FBI and their success in unlocking Syed’s iPhone. Even when it could be over for Apple in the court case against the FBI, possible threats remain present now more than ever, as iPhone’s security has proven to be at risk.

Source: Washington Post

Categories: Technology
Daniel Contreras:
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