Results are in on the ongoing battle between Apple and the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding the unlocking of an iPhone involved in a federal case and it appears as if the Justice Department ruled in favor of the tech company giant to help the federal agency. The response given by the U.S. government comes as the latest in the legal between Apple and the FBI.
In recent events, Apple has been ordered to work for the United States government to create a sort of backdoor access to the security system in one of its iPhones, and apparently will have to concede to the federal agency’s demand.
A federal magistrate judge ruled the tech company to help the FBI break into the locked iPhone 5C involved in the investigation of the San Bernardino shooting about a month ago. However, the company took a standing that would compromise the company reputation and customers’ privacy as well.
The latest opinion for the legal battle between the tech giant and a federal agency comes from no other than NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Apparently, Snowden appears to think the FBI doesn’t want to really get the information, as he claims the idea only Apple can bypass the security of an iPhone is a sham. He even used a severe language to express that statements saying that the iPhone security system can’t be hacked into is a deceit.
Customer’s Privacy at Stake
In spite of this, the Federal Bureau of Investigation argues that the protection protocol placed by Apple cannot be overcome. Additionally, the US Department of Justice claimed Apple already helped the Chinese government with iPhone security as a desperate call for Apple to concede with the demand.
“Everybody should be aware because it seems like disagreeing with the Department of Justice means you must be evil and anti-American, nothing could be further from the truth,” said Apple’s general counsel Bruce Sewell on a conference call.
The court order states that Apple has to create a custom version of the iOS for an iPhone 5C used by Syed Farook, one of the responsible attackers for the San Bernardino shooting. However, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook rejected the FBI’s demand on previous occasions stating that the order would compromise the users privacy and personal information.
The demand could destroy the iPhone as it would damage the tech company’s credibility, according to the attorney representing Apple, Ted Olson in its battle with the FBI. Now, federal investigators are working with San Bernardino technicians to figure a way to reset the password for the Apple iCloud account of the shooter.
Source: BBC