In a rather startling development, the Justice Department of the United States of America has released a statement claiming to have unlocked the iPhone 5c caught in question regarding the San Bernardino shooting case. While details of the process used to unlock the device has remained confidential, a spokesperson for the US Government has stated that help was taken from a third-party outsider to help solve the debacle. Apple had notably refused to comply with the Government’s request to unlock the device, citing reasons of protecting user security and creating a record under law in process.
The iPhone in question belonged to Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the gunmen involved in the December 2015 shooting case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, after procuring the iPhone 5c used by Farook, had approached Apple to create a bypass of sorts that would allow the security agency to take a look inside the device. Apple CEO published a letter to Apple’s customers explaining the reason why he and Apple decided to not comply with the Government in creating a hack for the device. Stating that the security flaw may become ‘dangerous’ if fallen into the wrong hands, Apple and FBI had the world divided on opinion. While the likes of Sundar Pichai expressed support for Apple, others like Bill Gates stated that Apple may figure out a way to help in legal proceedings without major hampering of user security.
Apple's official statement regarding the incident states, "From the beginning, we objected to the FBI’s demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the government’s dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought. We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated. Apple believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy. Sacrificing one for the other only puts people and countries at greater risk. This case raised issues which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. Apple remains committed to participating in that discussion."
With the US Government claiming to have unlocked the iPhone, Apple’s engineers and lawyers would want to know the procedure used to have unlocked the device. There has been no official disclosure of the third party agent involved here, but rumours last week had suggested that Cellebrite, an Israeli software company, may have entered a $15,000 contract with the US Justice Department to unlock the iPhone. While unlocking the device may have solved the FBI’s primary concern, a spokesperson wishing to remain anonymous has stated that the FBI may not find anything of importance in it. Additionally, it also raises the concern of the level of security on iOS, and whether the Government will cooperate with Apple to disclose the steps to reinstate user privacy and security remains a major doubt.
The Justice Department has dropped its legal appeal against Apple, after having successfully unlocked the device. While it may seems to be a win-win situation to some, the thought of a background security flaw that may have led to unlocking the device nullifies the entire point that Apple stood up for, and reinstates nightmares of being hacked and compromised.